Boston Bound Fae
by A-Shadow
Summary: Based on the prompt - What would happen if Jane and the gang were to find the body on the first episode of Lost Girl instead of Dyson and Hale. Crossover with Lost Girl. Spoilers for season 1 of both shows.
1. Fae, Fae, Fae World

**Authors notes:** Rizzoli & Isles are property of Tess Gerritsen, TNT, and I presume others as well; Lost Girl belongs to ShowCase, Michelle Lovretta, and a few others.

I own... most of the words. I have taken liberty with lifting lines from the script on occasion, so I can't even claim all of them.

This is VERY AU. The center of Fae power, where Bo finds herself, is in Boston. Frost and Hale were hybridized to make my Frost, and there are other stuff, but that is all in the plot... ;)

I want to thank me beta - Lostlex for her input. This would have been a lot shittier without you! (And if anyone sees her, tell her that I have a bit more lined up... just waiting there.. on my hard drive...)

Or if anyone wants to fill in for her - contact me in a week or so. I'd really hate to replace her, but I kind of like where this fic it taking me so far, and I need a beta...

I dedicate this story to RaziJazz's insanity which came up with the prompt.

* * *

**Episode 1 – Fae, Fae, Fae world**

"Lauren?" Jane resisted the urge to knock as she stepped into the lab. Even though the remodeling they had done to this place was years old, she still thought of it as the 'new labs'.

"I'll be with you in a moment," Lauren replied softly, from a distance.

Jane found herself walking toward the voice, which was partly muffled by the hum and bulk of machines in the room. She caught the scent of the woman she was looking for from behind a screen, and stopped. She realized Lauren was with a patient.

"I was just paged about..." Jane paused momentarily, hearing a quiet yelp in a voice that could not belong to anyone over 10 years of age. She frowned in sympathy, "a case. We aren't sure that it's ours, but considering the others summoned, I figured that it might be a good idea if you came along to pull rank."

Lauren sighed. "All right, I won't be long. I'm almost done."

Jane flagged down a lab tech, "Can I sit here?" She asked, pointing at a bed. The tech shrugged as if to say 'why not,' and moved on. Jane shook her head as she sat on the edge of the bed, her foot tapping the air impatiently.

"Thanks, Doctor Lauren!" The small voice sounded again, along with a thump. The seated woman rose, waiting for the child to jump from behind the screen just as surely as he hopped down from the table. Soon enough a small body skidded the main part of the room.

"Watch out!" The blonde doctor stepped out right behind the boy. He stopped at her call, and looked sheepishly around the room. The raven haired woman smiled. "Your parents should be waiting right outside, if they aren't - wait there, I should be right out." Lauren informed him. The child walked out at a slower pace, and Lauren looked after him, shaking her head with a half-smile. She closed her eyes, the smile still on her features as she turned to the waiting woman. She allowed herself to open her eyes, a more businesslike expression now on her features. "Dead or alive?"

Jane frowned. "You're talking to me. What do you think?"

The doctor opened her mouth to respond, closed it, and went to put together a bag. After a few moments, she nodded to indicate she was ready, and the two women headed for the doors.

"We'll take my car," Jane hesitated. "Explaining why I'm showing up in yours might be a bit challenging."

"And this way it won't be?" Lauren looked up at the woman walking next to her with a cocked eyebrow. Then she shook her head. "You know what, don't answer that, I don't care. Your idea, your call, you get to explain things on scene."

The taller woman smirked. "Let's get to it then."

~~~Bosoton*Fae~~~

The middle floor of the underground car park located under one of Boston's finest hotels was sealed off, but a quick flash of her credentials to the officer standing guard let the two women roll in without more than a half minute delay. "Try to avoid her." Lauren turned her head, her eyebrow beginning to rise in question at the statement. "She might still be mad about you taking over the autopsy of that crazy siren last month."

Lauren nodded thoughtfully. "I didn't think of that..."

"And don't hide behind me too much either. I still need to work her."

"Point taken."

The last few feet until the car was parked were spent in silence, and the two got out of the car looking to all the world as if they had barely ever spoken to one another. Jane's expression was firm, the schooled look of near indifference that she had learned and adopted many years coming as a second nature. She has, after all been to many a crime scene in the past. Both a cop in Boston and before this job. Lauren, on the other hand, was a bit out of her element – she was far more used to patients, solutions, and quiet work than to all the commotion. She drew a deep breath through her nose and squared her shoulders. Coming in on Jane Rizzoli's heels would only get her so far. Out of the corner of her eye she could make out an almost imperceptible nod of approval from the tall detective.

"Hey! You finally decided to show!" The amused call came from the man leaning against the police car near the elevator doors. Next to the elevator, a honey blonde woman wearing a dress and clad in heels stopped arguing with the uniformed cop barring her way and turned towards the two approaching women.

"Jane, please tell Officer West here that as the medical examiner I need to take a look at the body." Her gaze landed on the woman beside the approaching detective, and Jane could almost hear the gears in her best friend's mind shift as she tried to comprehend what the other doctor was doing there.

"Five more minutes, Maura." Jane responded in an attempt to appease the clearly agitated woman. "Frost and I will look at the body and we will probably be able to send Dr. Lewis here home." The blonde in question moved her bag from her right hand to the front of her body, holding it now with both hands, before she shrugged, trying to look anywhere but at the two women.

Maura flared, "Jane..."

"Maura, please," she was cut off, "five minutes. That's all." The two locked eyes for a few seconds before Maura looked down and sighed in defeat. Lauren attempted to hide a sympathetic smile from having dealt with that look herself, knowing that the smile would be misinterpreted by the other doctor. "Five minutes." The ME agreed, "then I'm coming in."

"So what do we have here?" Jane asked her partner as they stepped past the officer and into the elevator, leaving the two doctors behind them.

"Male, mid-thirties, no ID, must have rented a room here in the hotel. The security guard found him about an hour ago." Frost replied as they passed through the open doors. "No blood or guts coming out of him either." Frost added, mildly relieved. Jane merely smirked at him.

"What about the camera?"

"Busted. I had them pull the garage's." Jane nodded as she pulled on a blue nitrile glove, before removing the paper that covered the man's head and pulling out a ballpoint pen. Frost looked back over his shoulder, before putting on his own set of gloves as he crouched down. "The vic's human."

"Yeah," she agreed as she lifted the man's upper lip, and then lowered his bottom one using her pen. "The killer definitely wasn't."

"Oh no..." Frost frowned, while still fixing his gloves, "our side?"

"I hope not." Jane answered contemplatively. "This is sloppy... Leaving behind a feed like this... I don't recognize this kind of kill... Do you?"

Frost shook his head. "No, but it's a good way to die. The man did die with a smile on his face..."

Jane lifted a single hair from the man's collar, her focus on getting this done before Maura made good on her five minute timeline, the only thing keeping her from rolling her eyes at the remarks her partner was making. "A brunette." The detective said casually before smelling the strand and putting it in an evidence bag. With that done she leaned closer and inhaled deeply.

"What is it?"

"He has been drinking. And I smell a human on him – female."

Frost nodded. "Well, at this time of night and with that combo, I think we are going to the bar."

Jane nodded, her expression grave. "Lauren." As she called the name, the blonde doctor's head snapped to her a second before she started to move towards the two kneeling detectives. Maura shook her head in frustration from where she stood out in the parking lot, her lips pursing as she strained to hear what the other three were saying. "Can you recognize this?" Oblivious to the woman she left behind; Lauren knelt and repeated the procedure done only moments ago by the other woman in the elevator.

"Not in here." The blonde doctor finally said while softly shaking her head, "not like this... I need more equipment..." She trailed off. Jane and Frost nodded.

"Take him. Get officer Whyte to drive you to the lab." Lauren nodded to Jane's command, removing her gloves. Jane looked out of the elevator and sighed before getting up to leave. "Excuse me."

She took a few quick running steps and caught up with her retreating friend. "Maura, please wait." Green-brown eyes flashed as the other woman turned to face her.

"Why is she here, Jane? Who is she that she can just come and claim the body? This makes no sense, Jane!" Jane took hold of her friend's shoulder and ran her hand down the length of her arm until she was holding her hand.

"It's from higher up, Maura. I can't explain it any better than I could last month."

"But you will still be dealing with this case." Jane nodded at the statement, Maura sighed. "Then let the lieutenant offer my services. I don't like being shut out of this. I saw the discoloration of the skin above his zygomaticus muscles, which reached the buccinators, and masseters." Jane's eyebrow arched and her head started to tilt, Maura sighed again, "His cheeks." She carried on before the woman before her even had the chance to finish mouthing 'oh'. "I have never seen anything like this. Please Jane." Her tone was low, quiet, imploring while trying to appear as though all was right.

"This is not my call, Maura... I don't have a say in this..." The dark haired detective nearly flinched when the hand she was holding was dragged out of her own.

"You were the one who called her to check the body. You could have called me."

"I had my orders, Maura. I'm sorry, but a kill this strange goes to Lauren's table. A normal looking corpse to ours."

"Fine." With one last huff, the other woman was gone, leaving Jane pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Jane, are you coming?" Maura squared her shoulders she walked back toward Frost, who was calling for her from within the elevator. She didn't fully register the blonde doctor's gaze as she passed her with only a nod of acknowledgement.

~~~Boston*Fae~~~

"Good job pulling her face from the traffic camera."

Next to her, Frost grinned in response. "Thanks." He looked out the window and into the nearby diner as they drove by. "I think I saw her. Do you want to go out and make sure or should I?"

Jane shook her head. "I'll go. If Trick is even halfway right then I want to see her while she is still lucid."

"I'm not sure you need to worry about that... But knock yourself out. I'll go around the block once, call me if you want to speed things up." She gave him a long look as he pulled up to the sidewalk.

"Imagine if we were human cops hearing someone talk like that. We would be hauling their asses to jail them before they could move..." She finally said with a hint of a smile and an almost inaudible exhale. Her partner just chuckled.

"Yes, but this is a unique set of circumstances, and we are talking about the Ash." She nodded at this statement, thoughtful, then opened the door.

"I know, but I still need to see what I'm going to do about Maura, and this little side trip is not helping matters at all." Before he had a chance to reply, she was getting out of the van and closing the door. "And don't you say it. I get enough of that from..." She turned her head suddenly, looking at the diner. "Leave. Now."

Frost nodded and drove off casually, leaving Jane to move alone on the semi-crowded sidewalk. She pulled her coat a bit more tightly around her, making sure to hide her badge and gun, and began making her way to the two talking women. She could easily make out the other woman's appearance from a nearly 100 yard distance, and Jane couldn't help but grin at her chosen attire of skin-tight black and leather. Moving closer, she paid growing attention to the other woman's face rather than her figure, the years she spent hunting people down kicking in with almost no thought on her part.

She almost unconsciously took in the other woman's features. Her high forehead, the thin eyebrows atop dark brown eyes; her nose, cheekbones, lips, and the length of her hair. She was dressed in a low cut black shirt under an almost knee length black coat, black leather pants and high black boots. She ran her eyes along the other woman's jawbone, noting the way her hair moved as she walked, when she realized that the brunette was starting to turn her head toward her. The half smile that had formed when she first took in the other woman's outfit grew, turning from amused to almost sensual as they passed each other on the street, their shoulders barely a hand's length apart. A deeper than normal breath was all she needed to match the scents to the crime scene. She recognized the look she received in return and kept her eyes locked with the woman until it was no longer comfortable. Spotting Frost approaching in the van, she quickly moved to a vacant spot beside the road, raising her arm in acknowledgement and then quickly looking over her shoulder.

"They are going into that alley, we're not going to get a better chance than this, **move**." She said urgently and she opened the door, nearly jumping into the vehicle before it fully stopped. Frost nodded once and took off, the passenger door slamming shut as they turned into the lane.

Once inside the deserted alleyway, they moved quickly, knowing that time was of the essence if they wished to remain unseen. Mumbling at Frost, Jane dragged the woman he rendered all but unconscious into the van, allowing him to sit with her as she headed for the driver's seat from the inside, and then speeded down the alley. "Don't forget the hood." She could see him nodding to her in the rearview mirror, and so she turned her attention to the road.

The drive to the manor where the Ash conducted his business was uneventful, since once she was cuffed, and a black felt hood was pulled over her head, their captive could do nothing but sit there and yell at them. The two detectives ignored her, choosing to ride for the most part in silence. The woman continued talking as they walked from the van and toward the chambers where the Ash held is audiences. Only after sitting the woman in a chair did Jane take the hood off her head. The seated woman closed her eyes against the sunlight that shone into the room from the tall windows.

Nearly 15 minutes later, they were roughly at the same spot, and Jane felt her patience reaching its fraying point. "I don't think she's lying." Frost said almost lightly from where he rested against a pillar after the woman told them, exasperated by now, that she did not have a clan, bagpipes, or haggis, since she wasn't Scottish.

The Ash approached her then, looking deep into her eyes as he tried to assess her honesty. "Do you really not know what you are?" He asked her, his low voice portraying none of the frustration Jane could feel coursing through her veins.

"What am I?" The woman responded. Then, as the man before her drew closer still – she head-butted him. Before she could think better of it, Jane was straddling the woman, her hand fisting the black collar of a shirt and her canines elongating even as she felt her eyes shift in color. Behind her, the Ash was clutching his bleeding nose. "Forget about me, what the hell are you?" The woman in her hands asked, her voice and scent clearly signaling her panic.

"I'm sorry, it's the Morrigan. She insists on seeing her." Jane let go once she took in the blonde doctor as the blonde rushed in, in a manner so unlike what she usually projected. The entire group of Fae all but took small step back then, attempting to keep up a façade in front of their uninvited guests. Despite the quips and insults exchanged by both leaders, Jane felt quite proud that the two faction of Fae managed to keep decorum, and that she didn't have to throw a man across the entire room to get the Light's point across. Yet.

"Enough!" The Ash bellowed finally, raising his hand. "Lauren needs to examine the girl." At that, the blonde doctor moved towards their captive and calmly asked her to join her, though it was clear to all who stood in the room that her words were not a request. As the Ash and the Morigan turned to leave to a more private chamber to speak, Lauren cast a look over her shoulder and captured Jane's eye.

"That was interesting." Frost commented casually as he strolled toward her.

"I have a feeling that this is far from over..." Jane answered quietly, not trusting the men accompanying the Morrigan who were standing together by the door. Frost followed her gaze for a moment before returning it to her as she spoke again. "I want to go by the department. Do you think I have the time to make it there and back?" She glanced at her watch as she spoke, then frowned. "Lauren is going to hold the girl for about 20 to 30 minutes, and I should be here when she lets her out..." She sighed.

"Text Maura. No matter what the Ash and the Morrigan decide, you can go out for drinks later."

"Maybe."

"Be careful though, Jane. She may be getting too close."

She couldn't help the incredulous face she made at him. "She's Maura. I doubt she even believes in," she gestured around them, "well, anything that can't be scientifically explained to her."

Frost's reply was a shrug. "Don't let her talk to Lauren then," he advised as Jane rolled her eyes. "But I didn't mean she is getting too close to discovering there are Fae. I mean she might be getting too close to you." He tapped his chest over his heart. She scoffed at him. "Just sayin'..." He shrugged again, his hands going into his coat pockets. Jane pulled out her phone.

About 10 minutes later, the two leaders reemerged and gave their orders. Jane nodded and headed for the labs with a pair of heavy shackles. Waiting in the hallway, she listened to the conversation carried out inside. Her frown deepened as she took in the way the doctor was behaving with this newcomer. Her sense of smell told her a bit about the woman, especially when she had half shifted while grabbing her in the Ash's chambers. This woman was well aware of herself and how to use her sex-appeal to her advantage. Her suspicions were confirmed when the brunette walked out the doors, attempting to lead Lauren behind her. "You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?"

"A girl can dream, can't she?" Was the brunette's reply as she dropped the other woman's hand. Lauren looked mortified, avoiding eye-contact with the two women before her.

"Your hands please." Jane hoped that by ignoring this incident, the blonde would feel less embarrassed around her. She was sure that even a reassuring smile might be taken the wrong way at this time.

"I'm sorry. I had to try." Jane shook her head approvingly at the apology as she closed the shackles around her wrists.

"No.. good.. no.. it was.." the dark haired detective felt sorry for the doctor who was now choking on her own words "very informative." The old locks on the chains were a bit rusty and she frowned as she shook the key in them in order to get them to lock. "Where are you taking her?"

"The glass factory."

"Why?" When the lock clicked closed, she finally looked up and into brown eyes.

"It's neutral territory. They're going to give her the Test." The Doctor nearly paled.

"Without training? That's madness!"

"It's not our call..." Jane responded, her eyes moving to the floor before looking back at the doctor. "You should get yourself ready." She added and began moving away, leading the chained woman by the elbow toward Frost and the van. This time, she motioned for him to take the wheel, and got in beside the brunette. "What's your name?" She asked, her voice reaching the registry it usually took while talking with families of murder victims.

"Bo." The woman answered almost defiantly, causing Jane to smile.

"I'm Rizzoli, over there's Frost." Bo nodded, and Jane leaned back lightly against the side of the van. "I suggest you conserve your energy right now. You will need it so that you can watch your back later." Bo nodded at her again, and Jane crossed the small distance to sit next to Frost in the front of the van. He gave her a questioning look and she shrugged.

"Please, tell me what's going on." The woman in the back pleaded.

"We can't do that right now." Frost responded before Jane could open her mouth. "Besides, it might be better if you didn't know just yet."

"What's that supposed to mean."

"Un-bristle your feathers."

Jane clamped her mouth shut so she wouldn't laugh at the expression her partner just delivered in a deadpan tone of voice. She looked out ahead as he continued to speak.

"You are in a very unique position at the moment, and the lack of information is actually working in your favor." Frost said coolly.

"Where is _this_ Frost when we're interviewing people?" Jane commented casually as the woman, Bo, contemplated his words.

"Ah, but you play 'bad cop' so well..." He teased.

She shook her head at him.

It was a relatively short drive to the glass factory and once there Jane and Frost were joined by two of the Morrigan's men. It was excessive; Bo was, after all, shackled and now also behind bars, but it was clear to all four Fae why they were all there. It was not so much to protect Bo, or for protection from her, but to keep egos and politics satisfied.

The factory was run down. It has been years since the place was in use. Which was exactly why it had been chosen. The rust and broken windows kept the more sensible people at bay, while the Fae themselves, or on rare occasions – the Under-Fae kept the more desperate or curious from getting too far inside. The whole building smelled of decay and minimal maintenance, and Jane was itching to get out of there and to a place less grating on her senses.

She had also agreed with Doctor Lewis about her statement that sending someone to face the test not only untrained but with no apparent knowledge of their Fae heritage was cruel and, as the blonde put it – insane. And from the look of things, the girl – Bo. She corrected herself firmly. From the look of things Bo wasn't even half charged. Jane remembered the time when she had felt as hungry as the girl looked, and facing the Test in that state was going to get this Bo killed. She looked around her and continued to think.

When the word came for Jane and the others to take Bo from the holding room where the Morrigan spoke to her, it seemed that the shorter brunette was coming to grips with what she was about to face. "So what am I facing here, huh? Big-bad nasties, the Loch Ness monster?"

"Under Fae." Jane responded as she slipped the room key back into her pocket after locking it. Trying to breathe without smelling anything was hard. And annoying.

"Under-what now?"

"Under Fae." Jane repeated, slower this time, as she took the other woman by the elbow and began leading her down the corridor and toward the rink. "Those of our kind that don't exactly fit in the human world." Bo looked at her, jaw agape, but she pressed on, "Very old, very dangerous. You'll face two." She kept her voice low, so that the Dark Fae guard walking in front of them wouldn't hear her.

"And what are my chances?"

"I wouldn't bet on you."

Jane kept her attitude cool and detached as she attempted to figure out the distance from them to the other man, and whether or not she had enough time to execute her plan. When Bo stepped in front of her, she realized she just may have the opening she was looking for.

"Have I _spit_ in your coffee? What is your _deal_?" Bo demanded.

"Kiss me." Jane's dark eyes flickered to the woman standing next to her for a second before turning back to the hallway.

"Wow..." she couldn't tell if Bo was angry or just incredulous, "are you bad at reading women." She deadpanned, and Jane finally looked into her eyes.

"We don't have time for this," her eyes flicked back toward the doors, "you need all of the strength you can get, so take some of mine."

"Will I kill you?"

"Just kiss me." She wasn't even finished talking when she threaded her fingers through the other woman's long hair and pulled her close, crushing their lips together. She could feel the other woman feeding on her energy immediately, the sensation intensifying as Bo grabbed two fistfuls of her jacket's collar and pushed her against the wall. When she thought she could take no more she forcefully pushed the other woman away, and took a deep breath as she attempted to stop the world from spinning.

Meanwhile, Bo seemed to be cresting a wave of energy and joy. "...you feel that? It felt like the fourth of July in my mouth!"

The detective took a ragged breath and pushed herself off the wall, nearly gagging at the smell. Something seemed to dawn on the smaller woman then.

"Hey, you stopped me!" She exclaimed, still panting. "No one has ever stopped me before."

"Fae are different than humans. Your powers won't work the same on all of us." Jane explained briefly and took the other woman's hand, heading once again towards the rink.

"How am I going to beat these guys?" Bo was scared. The rush of feeding was gone, and things seemed to get cleared and cleared for her. She wasn't shaking though. That was good.

Jane looked down at the woman by her side, she felt almost sorry for the frightened woman. "You need to be faster, stronger than they are. They are going to underestimate you. Use that to your advantage."

"I misjudged you." Bo admitted softly, "got any other advice?"

"Don't get killed." Was Jane's only response, as she was well aware that from where they stood now, they could be heard from inside the main part of the factory.

"And you're back to being an asshole. That's nice..." Bo mumbled as she was dragged behind Jane and into the outer edges of the rink. The detective felt Bo freeze when she first laid eyes on her opponent.

"He's big, but he's slow." Jane hoped that her tone comforted that other woman somewhat. "These are your weapons," she pointed at the rack to her right that was covered with swords, axes, daggers, maces, and other weapons, "choose wisely." Her eyes swept the room as Bo crossed in front of her toward the rack, and she nodded almost imperceptivity at Frost, who had pulled Lauren to his side as she passed next to him. "Good luck." Moving quickly, Jane made her way up to where the two were standing, stopped at the blonde's right, and crossed her arms over her chest as she looked down at the two in the now cleared arena.

The first battle went by quickly. The giant Under Fae fell dead in less than five minutes, but Bo was totally unprepared for the second opponent. Jane reached down, clasping Lauren's wrist when the woman made a strangled noise at the swiftness of the Under-Fae's move. She exchanged a look with Frost. All they could do now was hope for the best.

"I don't..." Lauren started, then stopped. Jane turned her head down to look at her, but Lauren opted to let the sentence die rather than finish it. Jane gently squeezed her arm in reassurance, and almost managed a smile when she felt the blonde doctor reach up to squeeze her wrist in return. When the knives fell from the brunette's hands, the strength of the hand grasping hers intensified.

"Bo! Wake up! Wake up damn it! Bo, wake up!" Jane sharply turned her head toward the noise.

"The human girl..." she said in awe, glancing quickly at Frost. He looked as surprised as she did.

"Bo, he's killing you, wake up!" The girl screamed, pleading with her friend as one of the Dark Fae restrained her from rushing into the rink. The relief that washed over Jane was almost palpable when she noticed Bo's face twitching as the girl's yells and screams continued to echo throughout the large room. "BO!"

That last desperate scream was the final push Bo needed to break the hold over her. And her opponent, once realizing he lost her, fled. The swift motion of a knife incapacitated the man holding the still frantic girl.

"She's mine." Bo declared, her voice even. Jane gently shook Lauren's arm from her own, and crossed her arms once again as she clenched her jaws to keep the small smile she could feel attempting to form at bay. When Bo was once again fully standing, the Ash spoke the old ceremonial words.

"This one has passed the test." He turned to the Morrigan "It has been witnessed." The woman scoffed as the Ash returned his focus to the one standing below him. "Child, you may name your side."

"Neither!" The brunette exclaimed, throwing her arms out, and the entire room gasped and talking erupted. "I choose humans."

The two leaders exchanged glances. Jane finally allowed herself to smile as she slipped away, allowing the small human to help her friend, who had fallen to her knees from exhaustion.

It took fast moves, and faster talking, to allow her and Frost to get the two women back to where they had taken them from. But once there, she offered the brunette some advice on how to keep under the Fae leaders radar, along with her card, and an offer to help when she needed it.

**~~TBC~~**


	2. Two Weeks Later

So here we go - chapter 2! See the first chapter for disclaimers and the like...

Dear anon (I hope you made it here..) - this will be a Rizziles fic. It will even be a Doccubus fic. Though things will take time.. I hope that answers your question

* * *

**Episode 2 – Two Weeks Later**

Jane threw her head back in laughter. "Purple tie with green stripes and dots?"

Maura nodded gravely over her glass of wine. "Yes. Granted, pinstripes, but separated by dots, and on alternating heights between the lines."

The dark-haired detective attempted to place the beer bottle she was holding on the table, before she would spill it, and wiped the tears forming at the corners of her eyes. "So, because he had a purple tie with a pattern of green diagonal dot – line pattern, you didn't even sit at the table?"

Maura scoffed. "Someone with a taste that questionable in clothes undoubtedly has bigger problems lurking below his clothes." Jane's only response was to raise her eyebrow. Maura tilted her head, a small smile forming on her lips. "You know what I meant..." The doorbell rang and Jane got up and opened it after confirming that the person on the other side of the door was the delivery guy with the food they were expecting. A greeting, a bag, and money exchanged hands, while Maura made her way to the kitchen to get plates and utensils. Opening the paper bag as she walked, Jane smiled at the woman making her way to her counter with the plates in hand.

"Well," Jane began as she placed the bag on the counter and began taking the boxes out, "I'm happy to have you here, even if it is because of a tie." She finished with a grin, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

"Jane..." After all the time they had been friends, Maura knew she didn't have to say much more. The conversation soon turned to other matters as the two women ate. "Jane?"

"Hmm?" The woman in question looked up from her plate. Having just taken a bite, her mouth was full of noodles.

"I've been meaning to ask you about your cousin." The raven haired woman opted for making a confused sound as she chewed, knowing there was more. There was always more with Maura. "You never told me about her before she came into the station earlier this week..." Jane attempted to hide the frown she felt creeping onto her face.

Instead she shrugged. "Calling her a cousin simplifies things." She started, attempting to talk fast enough to cover the lie Bo had told in order to be allowed into the building and the department, while not tipping her friend off to the fact that it was a blatant lie. "It's a bit more complicated than that. The family relationship is very obscure... It's almost like saying that you and Korsak are related." Maura considered that bit of information.

"We might be." She finally said. "I don't know anything about my birth family."

Jane sighed. "I was just giving an example..."

"But if the familial relations are so obscure, why did you say she was your cousin?"

Jane blinked, well aware that she was now in a corner. "Because she is." She shrugged, hoping that she'd be able to confuse her friend into dropping the subject.

"Jane..." Maura almost didn't get a chance to finish the word before another knock on the door interrupted them.

Their heads turned in unison toward the sound, and Jane frowned. "I really hope it's not Ma or Frankie." She mumbled, giving her friend an apologetic glance as she put her chopsticks down. Maura returned the gesture with a small smile.

Two steps from the door, Jane stopped. The smell of blood invaded her nostrils. Changing direction, she moved to take her gun from where it was placed behind her sofa before turning back to the door.

"Jane?" Maura asked quietly, concerned, as she slid out of her chair and into a standing position. The raven haired woman motioned for her to stay back, before jerking the door open and leveling her gun at the person on the other side. Then, almost as quickly, she dropped the gun.

"Bo?" The Succubus looked at her through her eyelashes from where she was leaning heavily against the doorframe. Jane put the gun away and leaned toward the other woman, helping her into the apartment. "What happened?" Bo glanced at Maura, then at Jane, questioningly. "Sum up."

Bo nodded. "Got in a fight. Big dark guy. Then two of them. It wasn't pretty."

"I bet..." Jane deadpanned.

"You should see the other guy..."

Jane chuckled at that then took a longer, critical look at the woman before her. "Let me help you to the bathroom. We'll see what we can do about you after I see how much of that blood is yours."

"Jane!" Behind her, Maura was shocked. "Jane, this woman needs to go to the hospital."

"No, I don't."

"No, she doesn't." The two responses came simultaneously. "We should call Doctor Lewis though." Maura looked as if she was about to argue. "Maura take my phone, and call Lauren Lewis, tell her that Bo's here, probably injured, and tell her to come."

"Doctor Lewis?" Jane could tell exactly when Maura realized to whom she was referring. "Jane, _I_ can help her."

"No Maura, trust me, you can't. Please, call Dr. Lewis." From under Jane's arm, Bo raised a face streaked with blood toward her, and Maura's resolve broke beneath the two dark gazes.

"Fine." She said, her teeth gritting as she spoke.

"What crawled up her ass?" Bo mumbled as Jane sat her on the side of the bathtub and closed the door.

"She hates Lauren." Jane explained casually, while taking a small towel to the faucet, wetting it thoroughly, rinsing it, and bringing it gently to the other woman's face. "We need to do this quickly. Once she calls Lauren, and is sure she's on her way, she'll be coming in here to try and check on you. She doesn't know about the Fae, I want it to stay this way, and I don't need this kind of complication right now..." She finished with a huff as she lowered her hand from Bo's now mostly clean face and closed her eyes. Her arm didn't finish the movement when she felt lips soft on hers, and she sighed into the kiss, focusing on keeping them up-right, and on Maura's voice as it filtered in from the space under the door.

A minute later, Jane pushed Bo off and helped the woman sit on the edge of the tub. Only then did she gasp for breath, allowing herself to fall into a sitting position on the floor. "That should hold you until she gets here..." She panted, taking a short moment to close her eyes and center herself before attempting to stand. It took her a moment to get her legs steady under herself, and she reached for the still seated woman. "Think you can stand?" Bo took a gasping breath and nodded her head. "Good. He was one of ours, the guy you fought?"

Bo nodded. "Yeah, split right down the middle to spawn two of himself. I felt like I was in that scary Mickey Mouse cartoon, only much worse." Jane raised an eyebrow at her. "Oh, come on! With the brooms?"

"I don't watch much TV."

"It was a movie... Made in 1940..."

Jane shrugged. A knock on the door interrupted Bo's next sentence.

"Jane, are you all right?" The raven haired woman opened the door, and Maura looked critically at the now less bloody woman standing behind her friend. "Both your labium superius and labium inferius appear far more engorged than they have when you came here. Were you punched in the mouth?" She asked as she passed her friend to look closer at the injured woman.

Bo tilted her head. "My labi-what now?"

"Your lips." Jane explained flatly and Maura turned her head to beam at her friend. Jane shrugged, "It's not that hard to deduce after spending this much time with you, Talking Google." She brushed it off with a small smile.

Maura turned her attention back to Bo. "We need to get her to a hospital, Jane."

"She needs _her_ doctor, Maura. That's why you called Lauren."

Maura looked stricken. "What do you mean? Jane, Lauren is a medical examiner." Bo tilted her head in confusion, while Jane held on tightly to her self control to keep from groaning. Explaining this will not be easy.

"She..." She huffed, running a hand through her hair, "Lauren's specialty is..." She closed her eyes in defeat. Feeling a hand place itself on her forearm she opened her eyes again and looked down at Bo.

"This _really_ isn't a Kenzi and me type of situation, is it?" She asked, her tone gentle. Jane shook her head. "Look, uhm..."

"Maura," Jane supplied.

"Maura," Bo reached her hand out for a shake and smiled when her hand was grasped.

"Don't do that Bo, you don't have enough energy yet."

"Jane?"

"Bo, I mean it." Her tone held a warning to it.

"It's alright," the brunette said calmly to Maura as she stroked the back of her hand with her thumb, "everything is all right. You just want to get back to your dinner, don't you? It's getting cold. I will be right here, taking a shower, while you and Jane eat." Jane could barely hold back a growl.

"It would be terribly rude..." Maura replied hesitantly.

"I have a friend waiting for me. It's alright." Bo let go of Maura's hand and looked at the tall woman glowering at her.

"How would you explain this, huh?" Bo questioned and Jane's nostrils flared as her jaw clenched hard, but she said nothing.

"Come Jane, our dinner is getting cold."

"Don't you ever do that again." Jane growled at Bo, her shoulders tense, her hand flinched into tight fists. Jane left, following Maura, and closing the door behind her. Rising slowly from the edge of the tub and still hold, Bo glanced at the mirror and sighed.

~~~Boston*Fae~~~

They were practically done with their meal when the doorbell chimed. "Maura, would you mind?" Jane gestured at the tableware as she rose to her feet with a barely noticeable sigh. She received a shake of a head in response. A moment later she was opening the door to a sweaty looking Lauren who was dressed in workout clothes under a thin coat.

"Your friend caught me mid-run." She said, responding to the raised eyebrow with a small smile. "Where's Bo?"

"She's in the bathroom. We let her shower." Jane stepped aside to let the other woman in.

"You realize..." Lauren started, noticed Maura sitting in the kitchen, and stopped, letting the sentence hang. Jane looked at her questioningly. "Did you give her any first aid?"

"Yeah, but then she used at least some of it on Maura. The bathroom is over there." She pointed the way. Lauren nodded, slightly confused, and started for the other room while Jane turned to Maura.

"Doctor Isles," The blonde said by way of greeting. Maura's response was a curt not, and Lauren walked on toward the bathroom.

Jane looked at her, torn between wanting the woman to stay, and knowing that she couldn't find out what she, Lauren, and Bo were going to say and do. "Maura, I'm sorry, but..."

Maura nodded, her jaw tightening. "I will see you tomorrow at work, Jane." With grace that was belittled only slightly by unusual stiffness, she gathered her bag and keys, and left the apartment, without a backward glance.

Jane turned her head to the door, "hello rock," she mumbled. Then to the couch across from it, "hello hard place." Then she passed between them, shaking her head, on the way to her bathroom and other two women left in the apartment. She knew that she was flat out lying to the closest friend, barring Frost, that she had in her on a daily basis. Even more often now that Bo and Kenzi became a fixture in her Fae life. But She knew that she could not, would not expose Maura to the Fae if she could help it. A place where the woman would be considered at best third class. Far below Jane herself and even the Under-Fae. Humans were food, or property. The only person who ever changed that was Bo, and she was different. She was unaligned. She shook her head to clear the thoughts away. This was not the time or setting to think of Maura, and how she wished things could be different in their friendship.

When Jane walked into the bathroom, Lauren was preparing a shot for the woman, who was sitting quietly on the toilet seat, wrapped in a large fluffy towel. The detective leaned against the door frame, opting not to add her mass into the small and already pretty cramped room.

"I'm really sorry about this. I never meant to cause you trouble." Bo all but sighed as she looked up and spoke to the detective.

"As long as I'm your only source of healing energy, I don't think it can be helped." She said with a casual shrug and was proud that she had managed to keep her tone flat.

"There are two ways to solve this, you know." Lauren shifted, the injection ready in her hand. "This may hurt a bit." She added to Bo.

Bo smiled and extended her arm. "Do share, Doctor." The kneeling blonde visibly swallowed at the teasing tone. Jane rolled her eyes, the blonde was far out of her league with Bo.

"One: you," Lauren glanced briefly at Jane, "back up a bit from Dr. Isles."

"Not gonna happen." Jane answered flatly with barely a moment's thought.

Lauren ignored her. "And two: you," the doctor's eyes turned to Bo, "learn to control your hunger so that you can feed off someone who isn't Jane." The remark ended with the needle pricking Bo's skin as she delivered the shot.

"Way to make a point there, Doc." Bo grumbled. "You mean I need to look for another fae?"

"I mean you need to learn to control your hunger. This way you could even feed off humans without the risk."

"Do you really think I could do that?"

Lauren nodded without a second thought. "Just like Jane learned to control her abilities, and well..."

"We're not born with the self-control. Usually parents teach their young." Jane cut in, crossing her arms across her chest.

Bo's face turned to something between sad and confused. "Their 'young'?" She asked, applying pressure to the cotton ball Lauren pressed against the puncture point.

"Well, yes." Lauren shook her head to clear her mind. "Fae are taught to control their abilities. It isn't instinct."

"What are your abilities by the way?"

"It's considered very rude to ask." Jane responded with a hard look before pushing herself away from the door frame. "I'll be in the kitchen. We can discuss how we do this over something to drink. You can grab a t-shirt from my room. Across the hall, right closet door, middle shelf."

"Is she always like that?" Bo gestured with her thumb. Lauren shrugged.

"I wouldn't know. We don't really interact much."

"With the social butterfly over there? I'm shocked." Bo got up rolling her eyes, and Lauren averted her eyes taking a deep breath through her nose as she did. Then she got up as well.

"We run in different circles." Lauren summed with a shrug, well aware that if Jane wanted, than their entire conversation could be heard. She didn't want to offend the woman in her own house. "We'll be out there."

~~~Boston*Fae~~~

Jane sighed as she played with the label on her beer. "Okay, Jane, what's wrong?" She raised her eyes to Frost who was casually leaning back against the booth, supported by his elbows.

"Ma called me over for a talk."

He turned toward her. "So? She comes over and talks almost every day."

"No, this was a female territory thing type of talk..."

Frost made a silent 'oh', as his curiosity grew. "But I thought that your agreement covered all the territory rights and rules when she adopted you into her clan..."

"She adopted me into her pack, not her clan. The rules we hammered out were about our behavior in the human world, territory, and feeding. We are still two alphas in the same _very close_ space... But there are things that no one thought might come up where the contradiction between me only moving from one place to another through her pack's territory. Who thought we'd be here for this long?" She asked, almost aggravated. "Both of us are over 300 years old, neither of us thought a human like Maura existed! Or that she and I would get along..."

Frost nodded silently. Despite the fact that his friend had whispered the last two sentences he couldn't help but look around to see if someone heard them. It was risky, sitting in a cop bar and not at the Dal considering this turn in the conversation. He looked back at his friend once he was satisfied that they had not been over heard.

"And with Bo and Kenzi here," he smiled. He liked the feisty human, she was fun, "things are getting closer and closer to the line separating my human façade from my Fae life and she is getting very tense."

The smile fell from his face and he nodded slowly. "You never did tell me about those arrangements. What if I need to be your second..." Frost noticed Jane frown. "Not that I think you'll need one... but..."

"She says Maura is getting too close." She cut him off and his look changed immediately from concerned to resigned; she ignored it. "As the Italian mother she's all for that, but as Fae, she was advising me to back off. That it's getting too dangerous, she's getting too close. Especially since Bo came along. Apparently Maura called Ma about... something... and also asked how 'my cousin Bo' was doing. Thank the gods that Frankie told her about that, otherwise things could've gone very badly."

Frost sighed. "I thought it might come to this. You need to step away a bit or completely. This isn't a Bo and Kenzi thing, we're affiliated..."

"I know. But it's not that easy. Maura is..."

"I know. But you have to do it. It might be awkward at work for a while, but we'll adapt. Heck, if we've gotten through two world wars, what's a fallout with a human doctor?"

She frowned at him. "I guess you're right... I'll think about it." He raised an incredulous eyebrow.

"Everyone except Trick is on my back about this. Maybe I am in too deep to see clearly... I don't want to do this, but I will try to consider it rationally." She responded after a brief silence in which she managed to tear the label off of the bottle.

"How _is_ Bo doing?" He changed the subject when she started shredding the paper in her hands. She gave him a questioning look, though her gratitude for the change in subject was discernable. "You said Maura called about her, and we didn't see her in the station in the past few days."

"Bo showed up at my apartment two nights ago, while Maura was there. She was badly hurt." Frost's eyebrows nearly rose off of his forehead. "I couldn't really have mad passionate sex with her, so I asked Maura to call Doctor Lewis." Frost shook his head slowly, his eyes as large as saucers.

"Mad pass... And the Doc and..." that seemed to snap him back into focus. "I bet she wasn't happy."

"Not in the least. But Bo worked her, and she didn't ask questions. I don't really know why she didn't ask anything since. But her trying to get answers from Ma means she may not trust me enough to give her the answers..."

"What would you have said?" He asked softly.

"I have no idea... But the plus side of that night is that Lauren is now working with Bo to hone her," she lowered her voice, "homicidal tendencies, so maybe I can get one major complication out of my life."

"Bo won't disappear that easily. And when she's badly hurt, she won't be able to go to a human."

"She can have an orgy for all I care. Look Frost, she's hot and she's a succubus and all, but she tends to bring colossal headaches along with her, not to mention that healing her too often can be hazardous to your health..." She pulled up the side of her shirt. The tender skin hidden behind the cloth spoke volumes.

Frost whistled. "Coming from you, that's scary." She offered him a half smile and fixed her shirt. "How are you and Bo getting along by the way?"

"I don't care!" She exclaimed, drawing the attention of a few nearby patrons. "Sorry..." She offered with a small half smile. "It wasn't like there was something emotional there. She needed healing, so we had sex a few times. I am attracted to her, but not interested in her."

"You interested in someone else?" She glared at him. "Just askin'..." He raised his hands as though in defeat, and the duo lapsed into a short silence.

"The thing is, I can't just break it off from Maura."

"No one is saying that you have to quit cold turkey." He glanced briefly over her shoulder. "Besides, considering all other options, I'm not entirely sure you should be considering eating turkey, or any kind of meat, at all." He joked and she raised an eyebrow at him before a faint smell registered, and she had to forcibly stop herself from turning. She drank deeply from her beer, not attempting to help the man in front of her at the least as he tried to cover the remains of their previous topic.

"Hi." Only when a voice came from her right, along with a hand on her shoulder did she turn, supposedly surprised to see her friend.

"Hey," she drawled, "I thought you'd be heading home."

"I changed my mind." Maura explained almost shyly.

"You want a drink, Doc?" Frost offered as he stood up.

"Thank you, Barry." Frost tipped his head toward her. "A glass of dry red wine would be wonderful." Jane shifted in the booth, making room for her friend. Maura sat down just as Frost made his way to the bar.

A few steps from the counter, he spotted a blonde sitting by herself and changed direction, ending up next to her. "Hi," she turned, "Doctor Lewis?"

"Detective Frost..." The blonde stammered. He cast a quick glance toward the booth where Jane and Maura were talking quietly. She followed his gaze, and frowned. "I think this bar wasn't the best idea..." She mumbled, casting a quick look at the door as it opened, admitting a pair of still uniformed officers.

"It might have been, a couple minutes ago." Frost almost agreed before ordering another two beers and a glass of wine. Lauren raised an eyebrow at him and he shrugged. "First of all – call me Frost, or Barry, not Detective Frost. Secondly - I'm with Jane and Doc Isles. You should join us. If the Ash is really going to start sending you out to mingle with the rest of the population, than it might be a good idea for you to get to know more humans a bit better." Lauren frowned at him for a short moment.

"Lauren." She extended her hand with a half deprecating smile. He smiled broadly and shook it. "You know it's not really possible for me to have human friends. Not inquisitive minds, anyway. And the other kind is boring..." She trailed off, "besides, I'm waiting for someone."

"I never said anything about being friends with her. I'm saying – friendlier. When whomever you're waiting for comes in, leave. Don't leave me alone with the two of them just yet." His puppy dog eyes would have been impressive had he not been grinning from ear to ear.

She rolled her eyes. "Alright." She stood up when the drinks came, taking the glass of wine, the only thing left after Frost quickly took hold of the bottles.

"Look who I found!" He said cheerfully and he handed one of the bottles to Jane. Maura looked up and narrowed her eyes.

"Doctor Lewis." She said coldly. Jane sighed silently.

"Maura, Lauren; Lauren, Maura" Frost interjected before the blonde doctor could say anything. "I don't want to hear any of this 'doctor' thing tonight, or I won't be able to keep up with who is talking about whom." Jane covered her face with her hand, the movement making a low 'thump' as skin hit skin. Lauren smiled self consciously and placed the wine in front of the other woman, then all but fell into the booth across from Frost after he tugged her down.

She cast him a disapproving glare. He grinned at her. "You said you were waiting for someone?" Frost prompted, picking up their line of conversation.

"Yes, Bo."

"So you two are getting along?"

The blonde doctor nodded, her smile softening, before sipping from her drink. "It's a slow process," she couldn't help but run mentally thought her time together, her smile broadening a bit more, "but it's a process." She relaxed when she caught Jane smiling at her.

"Are you dating Jane's cousin?" Maura's tone was incredulous at the amount of angles from which this blonde doctor seems to be coming at her, and she returned the glass she was just raising to her lips back to the table top. Lauren turned her head to Maura and blinked, the confusion clear on her face. Jane discreetly kicked her.

"Ah... no, we're currently just working together."

"Oh?"

Lauren nodded. "Yes. And here she is now, so if you will excuse me..." she left the rest of the sentence open and nodded at the two Fae sitting at the table before getting up and heading toward the woman who had just come in.

"That was not awkward at all..." Frost mumbled in a barely audible voice and Jane grimaced in agreement.

**~~TBC~~  
**

* * *

I'm still looking for (my) beta, so if anyone knows anything - I'll be more than happy to talk with you!


	3. I Kissed A Girl

**Episode 3 – I Kissed a Girl**

"Jane, come on, we're dealing with a crime that's based on sex. Who best to call for help?"

The raven haired detective merely frowned at her partner as they stepped into the lobby of the precinct. "We're dealing with a homicide at a lesbian club. Do you really want to call in the still not fully trained..."

"Jane!" The call stopped the two partners who turned towards the sound of a rapidly approaching Maura Isles. Or at least, as rapidly as a woman wearing heels that high could advance. Jane raised an eyebrow.

"Jane!"

The trio turned, "Today is going to be one of _those_ days, is it?" Jane grumbled as she spotted the officer stopping Bo and Kenzi. "It's ok Jo, let them in."

"Jane, I want to help." Bo nodded at Frost and grinned at Maura, "hi." Jane all but growled at the succubus's greeting, while Kenzi and Frost preformed an elaborate handshake.

"Jane, who is this?" Maura asked as she observed the hand gesturing, a frown of confusion painted on her face, and her head tilted.

The detective threw up her hands in defeat. "All that's missing right now is having Ma drop by." She grumbled. "Bo, no. This is a clear homicide, so you could not have been hired to look into this. How did you hear about this anyway?"

"Internet, duh J.R. You really need to unclench." Kenzi stated, and Jane glared at her with enough intensity to make the shorter girl take a step back. "Or not..."

"Jane, I can help. This is..."

"A probable hate based homicide at a lesbian bar. Not your thing." Kenzi's eyes grew wide. "You," Jane pointed at the girl who was now practically hidden behind her friend, "not a word."

"Jane," Maura chimed in disapprovingly.

"Would you all stop saying my name? It hasn't changed in quite a few years, I didn't forget it." She glowered. "Frost, get them out of here, we really don't need the dynamic duo right now..." She paused, frowning. "Wait, you know what, Bo, stay."

"Hey!" Kenzi stepped out from behind Bo, only to return to her former position half a second later.

"Come on, girl, I'll buy you some coffee."

"Frost..." Jane's voice was low.

"Seriously Frost-man, _coffee_?"

He grinned at Kenzi.

"Oh, yeah, I mean – coffee! Sure! You know how to reach me, Boss." She added, pulling her phone from her pocket and waving it at her friend. "And you," she turned her eyes to Maura, "seriously killer threads."

Maura opened her mouth and closed it again. "Thank you?"

"Any time, Suzy Parker." Maura brightened. "And if you ever want to get rid of some stuff give me a..."

"Kenzi!" Two dark haired women, and two very different intonations, stopped her.

"Fine... Peace!" With that and a wave, she and Frost were gone.

"Frost!" Jane yelled after him, but he was already out of earshot. She reached up and put her face in her hands, then sighed, straightened and turned to face Bo. "Don't talk. You're not a cop, and I could bet in a shitload of..".

"Jane!" Maura exclaimed, somewhere between exasperated and appalled. Jane ignored her.

"..trouble if word spreads that I took you to interview a suspect."

Bo's posture straightened, and with a smirk she mimed locking her lips. "My lips are sealed."

"Right..." Jane's incredulity rolled off of her in waves.

"Jane, I..." Maura tried once again to get her attention.

"This evening, Maura. Unless something unforeseen happens, then I promise – we'll talk this evening. Let's go, Bo. I'm driving."

Bo threw Maura an apologetic look and a rushed apology before also turning and trying to catch up with the taller woman. Behind them Maura tilted her head, her eyes narrowing in thought. "They hardly have any familial similarities..."

~~~Boston*Fae~~~

Bo put a hand on Kenzi's shoulder as they walked into the squad room. She tilted her head toward where Jane, Frost and another man sat listening to Maura. "I am in awe of what human beings can do. I am in awe of the channel stitching on this sweater." The two friends glanced at each other before looking back at the scene before them, only to see Maura take off one of her shoes and raise it to eye level. "I am in awe of the artisan who molded and shaped this shoe..."

"Damn..." Kenzi made a slight face, "girl is not playing with a full deck, is she?" Bo grinned and walked up to the small group, her amusement painted clearly on her face.

"I cannot wait to see what you are going to wear!" Jane exclaimed in a mock girly voice, sarcasm dripping from every syllable.

"Well that's the most playful I've ever heard Jane..." Bo said with a confused tilt of her head. "Hey guys!" The four turned to her. The mocking smile slipped from Jane's face.

"Hello," the older man rose to his feet, extending a hand, "Vince Korsak."

"Bo Dennis." They shook hands. "I'm Jane's cousin. And this is Kenzi, my best friend and business associate."

"Oh?" Korsak looked between the two women, surprised. "I didn't know you had a cousin..."

"I'm Italian. Our families are huge." Jane deadpanned. Meanwhile, Kenzi made her way to Frost's desk and sat on it after their customary handshake. Maura looked at the two, her head once again tilted in confusion. "Thanks for coming."

"You alright, Twiggy?" Kenzi asked Maura, and Jane's attention flashed to first to the girl and then to her friend, who seemed to shake herself from her contemplation.

"Yes. I was just wondering why you are preforming this elaborate handshake."

Kenzi and Frost exchanged a look before shrugging almost simultaneously. "We're bros."

"Bros?"

"Yeah." Kenzi confirmed with a firm nod.

"She means we see each other as very close friends. Like family. – Bros is short for brothers." Frost explained and Kenzi raised an eyebrow at him. "Doc Isles here is not very good with cultural references." He explained.

"_Anyway_," Jane cut in, "before this tangent takes us even further away from the point," Bo sat in the detictive's chair earning herself an eye-roll from the woman sitting on her desk. "I wanted to use your skills when we go undercover tonight." Korsak raised an eyebrow. "Yes," she turned to him, anticipating his words, "I know that she's a civilian, but she's a PI, and she could be of use to us in this case. I also wouldn't a mind the backup inside the club if things get hairy." Kenzi chucked.

Jane glared at her. "Sorry, but you have to admit..." the rest of Kenzi's sentence dropped off as Frost gently squeezed her hand. Jane huffed. She did not fail to notice how Maura now had her arms crossed across her chest, and swallowed thickly before moving on. "What does Doctor Lewis say? Can you handle an atmosphere like that, Bo?" Once they realized that they were the only people not to understand this sentence, Korsak and Maura exchanged looks.

"What does that mean?"

"Not really..." The question and the quiet confession came at the same time. "I mean, she thinks I'm ready to test myself on a large scale, but I'm not all that sure..."

"Come on Bobo! You can do this!" Kenzi jumped from her seat and perched on the arm of the chair Bo was occupying, giving her a half hug. Bo smiled up gratefully at her friend.

"I'd feel much better if she was there." Jane took a deep breath then nodded, turning to Frost. "Can you check if we can have her for tonight?"

Frost nodded, got up, pulled out his phone, and left before Jane turned back to Bo and Kenzi. "No funny business though. Take a table somewhere and pay attention. It's more than likely that I won't need you, but," she shrugged, "backup..." She summed up with an almost deprecating smile. "Kenzi, we don't need."

"What?!" The younger girl sounded appalled. "But we're a team – Bobo and I! All for one, sempre fi, and all that!"

Jane fixed her a look. "The BPD is not paying for your drinks."

Kenzi's face crumpled. "Fine. I'll go to Tricks. I wouldn't want to break that many hearts anyway." Bo and Jane smirked.

"Jane, what is it that Bo can do to help this case so much that you're dragging a civilian into it?" Korsak asked from his place behind his desk, his face thoughtful and confused.

"And why does it involve Doctor Lewis?" Maura added, her distaste for the other doctor more than evident in her voice.

"Bo is..." Jane started, only to falter a moment later.

"I'm very good at reading people," Bo cut in. "Mostly in certain situations..." she added thoughtfully. "And the whole chain dater thing can cloud some people's judgment, so this ability of mine might come in handy." Maura nodded, still confused, but before she could ask another question, she noticed Frost making his way back, his cellphone pressed to his ear.

"No, you will not be going undercover with them..." the five turned towards him as he made his way to his desk and flopped down in his chair. "Jane and Maura... Yes... No, it's fine. Besides, we're talking about doing whatever it is that you do with Bo... Yes, she told us. Think of this as a... ah... date... in a lesbian bar, when your date is also keeping an eye on another woman..." He laughed. "Okay, Bo will call you later with the details. See you Docto... See you Lauren." After ending the call he turned to face the five pairs of eyes looking at him, an amused smile still firmly on his face. "She's in." Bo sighed in relief.

"What kind of doctor is she?" Maura couldn't keep the question back anymore.

"I think we need to talk, Claudia Schiffer."

"Kenzi, this is not your call." Jane growled at her.

"Watch it Rizzoli." Bo's voice was firm. "You want my help? Then you need to be nice to my friend. And I don't care if it means you're tasting blood biting your tongue every two minutes." Kenzi stuck her tongue out at the brunette detective, then promptly pulled it back in, clamping her lips shut as Jane glared at her.

"Fine." Jane agreed with a sigh. "I'll be nice."

"You still haven't answered my question." Maura pressed.

Jane could feel the annoyance rolling off of her friend in waves. "I know, Maur. And I will. Just not right now."

Maura huffed and left, barely bothering to say goodbye to the others. Jane's face sank into her hands and she grumbled something almost inaudibly before straightening. "I should go after her. I need her help with the evidence and no, we can't use..."

"Lauren." Frost piped in. "And get used to calling her that, you can't 'Doctor Lewis' her all night." She threw an exasperated glance his way.

"We can't use _Lauren_ for the collection. The DA might find some kind of fault in it. The night crowd at the Merch starts at about 8, so I suggest you don't get there too early."

Bo nodded, promising to set her arrival up with Lauren. And Jane nodded once more, and left.

"Why do I think that I missed about half of the conversation that just went on here?" Korsak asked from his seat.

"Because you're old, and your hearing is failing?" Frost suggested with a smirk. Korsak huffed at that and turned to his computer. "Come on, I'll walk you two out."

~~~Boston*Fae~~~

"That was awesome!" Kenzi cheered from her place in the booth, earning grins from Jane and Frost.

"I should be thanking you." Jane pointed with the neck of her beer at Bo, who raised a silent question. "If it wasn't for... three weeks ago, I probably wouldn't have thought about getting the bartender's DNA like I did. And that was what wrapped this case up." Bo's face changed to an almost feral grin, while Lauren raised an eyebrow at her and Maura raised an eyebrow at Jane.

"What happened three weeks ago?"

"I got into a fight. Jane gave me first aid." Bo shrugged, and Lauren turned to her beer taking a long swallow.

"You get into a lot of fights." Maura said contemplatively.

Bo shrugged. "It comes with the job." She turned to Lauren. "I'm still half disappointed that I wasn't needed though."

Lauren smiled. "I'm not sure it's a bad thing... Even I could feel the energy in that club, so I can't imagine what it was like for you..."

Bo's grin turned seductive. "Maybe I can let you know sometime." Out of the corner of her eye, Lauren could see Maura shake her head incredulously at her banter with the succubus.

Lauren took another drink from her beer and turned to the other human. "Alright, let's get this out there – I know you don't like me. And I know why, but it seems that we're going to be bumping more and more into each other, at least socially, since I'm friends with Bo and you're friends with Jane. And since they are," she glanced quickly that the Fae sitting around the table, knowing that she cannot bring herself to use the lie that they used "connected. So let's try and... get along?"

Maura looked at her steadily. "What kind of doctor are you?"

Lauren blinked in confusion. "I... What?"

"What kind of doctor are you?" Maura repeated, ignoring Jane's attempt to capture her attention.

"Jane, it's a fair question." Lauren interjected. "I started in immunology, but in the years since moved more towards the fields of genetics, biochemistry, and cryptozoology."

"Cryptozoology?" The sneer was clear in Maura's body language and voice. "You study animals whose existence has yet to be proven?"

"It started out as a hobby, and..." Lauren chuckled, "mutated."

"Then why do they call you in to preform autopsies on humans?" Maura continued her questioning.

"They... I am not at liberty to say..." The blonde doctor fumbled with the label of her drink, her eyes leaving the other woman's as she did so. Bo put her hand on hers, and she smiled gratefully at her before looking back to Maura. "I live under a very strict confidentiality agreement." She tried to explain then stopped, glancing surreptitiously at Jane and Frost. Jane was looking straight at them with a neutral expression, and Frost was paying them no mind while talking quietly yet animatedly with Kenzi. Jane nodded almost imperceptibly, and Lauren flashed an almost unnoticeable smile at the tall woman. "I never meant to step on your toes, Doctor Isles. I'm just following orders..."

Maura was quiet for a long moment, and Bo took advantage of the lull in conversation to take one of Lauren's hands in her own. Lauren tightened her hold for a moment.

"Call me Maura." Five sets of eyes turned to the medical examiner. "You're right. I was needlessly angry with you. I should have made my inquiries sooner, but when it seemed that you took the bodies, my work, right from under my hands, and I didn't find your name in any medical examiner's registry I grew suspicious. Thank you for answering my questions. And I think that if we are to be friends then you should call me Maura, not Doctor Isles." Lauren was grinning at this point and reached out with her free right hand.

"And you can call me Lauren." They shook hands.

"Well, now..." Jane mumbled.

* * *

Chapter three! And it didn't take a (full) week!  
Although I would expect an update about once a week is I were you...

I want to thank Ceek for jumping on the wagon, or taking the bullet, or whatnot - by taking over as my beta, and dealing with my tendency to ramble on and on and, oh look, something shiny... *wanders off*


	4. Dead Lucky

I want to officially thank Ceek for taking over as my beta for this fic!  
I'd say that I owe you cookies, but you **really** don't want me to bake... I can cook for you instead, though!

* * *

**Episode 4 – Dead Lucky**

"Hey Jane! I need a hand." Bo ignored Kenzi's teasingly mumbled 'sure you do...' as she stepped into the nearly empty squad room.

"Where's Frost?"

"He and Kosak went off on a call, I got the short straw." Jane gestured at the papers littering her desk. "What do you want?"

"I think this is almost the nicest you have ever been to me." Bo said in genuine surprise. Jane once again gestured at the paperwork.

"Don't let it go to your head - I hate paperwork." She added with a smirk.

"Charming. Really. I've been hired to find a guy who shows up in this footage." She raised the disk. Jane reached out her hand and inserted the disk into the computer, opening the department's facial recognition software as they waited for the disk to load. It only took a few moments to find a clear shot of their targets face.

"So we'll take this image from the security tape and run it through facial recognition..." She turned as she felt something hit her shoulder from behind.

"And she wets herself over your geek skills!" Kenzi, sitting on the desk behind them, declared, earning two eye-rolls and two huffs. "My bad!"

Jane took advantage of the wait and the distraction Kenzi supplied to change the subject. "I don't like you working for Mayer."

"Too bad you don't get to tell me what cases I can't take anymore as per our agreement." Bo countered after seating herself more comfortably next to her. Jane pursed her lips, knowing that while they had to keep a certain distance from each other, mostly since Bo chose to identify herself to Maura, and hence to any other human in their circle as Jane's family, this could not be helped. Especially since there were no romantic feelings involved in their healing sessions. "Just think of it as getting free intel on the Dark." Bo added a bit more quietly.

"Why doesn't Mayer have his own guys looking into this?" She could feel the succubus's eyes on her for a brief moment, and ignored the sound of another rubber band hitting her chair.

"He probably doesn't want his Fae bosses to know he got conned."

The software beeped, signaling its results were in, and Jane wrote them on a piece of paper before handing it to Bo. "Thanks. I'll see you around?" Jane took a slow breath through her nose, almost smelling the complications coming their way.

"Maybe." Bo giggled at that and left. Kenzi stayed only long enough to shoot another rubber band, this time aiming it at the raven haired woman's face. Jane swiftly caught it, and raised an eyebrow.

"Hello, Kenzi." Maura beamed at them as she stepped into the squad room. "Are you here alone?"

"Hey, Chanel Iman. Didn't you see Bo? She was literally just here."

Maura shrugged. "I heard the other elevator doors close when I stepped out of mine, but I didn't see who was in there." Kenzi shrugged, and Jane leaned further back in her chair. "I wanted to see if you are available for lunch, Jane. You're welcome to join us, of course." She glanced at the younger girl.

Kenzi smirked. "Can't. Bobo and I have a con-dude to catch. Enjoy your lettuce, ladies!" She left with a mocking bow and Jane sighed.

"We should listen to her suggestion, Jane. Although kale or spinach are much better for you than just lettuce." Jane sighed again.

"That's my food's food. But come on, before Frost and Korsak come back with even more paperwork." She grabbed her jacket and stood up, motioning for her friend to lead the way to the elevators.

"Kenzi is gone." Maura noted with mild surprise as they reached the elevators.

"I'd say she took the stairs, but knowing her..." she left the sentence hanging, as she summoned an elevator.

"Yes," Maura agreed, "her shoes are less than practical for stairs." Jane simply looked down and her friend's feet and snickered. "I know what you are thinking. And this is one of the reasons why I also take the elevator." Maura retorted with her chin raised high.

"I'm not getting into this argument…" Jane replied with a shake of her head.

"We are not arguing."

"Of course."

~~~Boston*Fae~~~

It was a rare quiet, calm night. They had no cases. And once Jane got Maura to understand that she wouldn't be coming to the fundraiser – no plans. Jane was free to play pool with Frost at the Dal.

"So what's up?" Frost asked as she lowered her drink. "That's your third energy drink, and you still look like shit!"

Jane grinned. "Hale, she is relentless. Between her and Maura, this is the first break I've had all week! Not to mention that she is cutting deeply into my time with Maura and it's starting to raise questions..."

"I'm gonna do you a favor and give Bo my digits so I can cover your shift."

He teased and she laughed. "I think I can manage, bro. Pass."

"Clearly..." Frost rolled his eyes and glanced briefly at Bo and Kenzi who were sitting at the bar talking to Trick. "Listen, what's it like with a succubus? Tell me."

Jane grinned wolfishly. "Do you remember Adrian?"

"The nymph?" Jane nodded, "oh yes!"

"Yeah. Well, I lost his number and I don't even care." She could hear Frost's almost anguished hiss as she turned from him and made her way to the trio at the bar. It was more in order to relieve the boredom of the quiet night than anything else that she joined their discussion, but the talk of body jumpers soon had her changing her mind about calling it a 'quiet' night. And so she offered to take Bo to the Hsien that she knew who worked at the morgue of another precinct. She promptly cut off the teasing from Bo about the succubus's need of the occasional healing session by taking their leave, leaving Kenzi to finish the game with Frost. Had she been asked she would have denied it, but she was uncomfortable by both the teasing itself and the fact that it was taking place in front of Trick.

Eddie, the Hsien's teasing was a bit rusty, and had this been her case, Jane was sure that she would have smacked him by the fifth nonsensical sentence. Since nobody cared about Elvis sighting from the 70's. Especially Bo, who might not have even been alive back then. Jane filed that thought for later.

All he did was give them a new lead about who might have scammed the Dark Fae bookie, Mayer. And this lead, this Lucas, had Jane worried as she escorted Bo to the Clubhouse to pick Kenzi up and send them on their way back to Mayer with their findings.

Hopefully this would all end without much more intervention from her. A body jumper could bring Maura to an uncomfortable closeness to gaining knowledge of the fae her world, and she wasn't ready for that yet. As she drove back to the Dal she wondered if she'd ever be willing to bring the medical examiner into her world, or if she'd need to move and uproot to somewhere else in order to keep the Fae a secret. She hoped neither. Getting a new identity in this day and age was a pain in the ass.

~~~Boston*Fae~~~

It was less than two hours later that Kenzi all but dragged Bo's nearly unconscious body into the now empty Dal. Jane and Frost both jumped away from their pool game and helped carry her into the back room, Jane dismissing Frost once they were securely inside. "What the hell did you do to yourself?!"

"Rule three: no questions. Remember?" Bo answered through chattering teeth, her eyes beginning to roll back in their sockets.

"Hey, hey, hey! Stay with me" Jane grabbed the shorter woman's face in her hands forcing their ryes to meet. "What did he look like?" Bo was shivering violently now.

"Big. European. Terrible kisser..." She grunted in pain as Jane ducked a bit to examine her wounds "His hands frosted over. Cold as hell." Jane began to quickly disrobe.

"It's a frost giant. Their touch can stop a man's heart – you could have been killed."She explained while Bo continued to shiver.

"You really need to work on you foreplay..." The sentence came in gasps and pants, as the contracting muscles all over the shorter woman's body made speech harder for her.

"Is that a new rule?"

"Just good manners!" Bo panted out in one breath and Jane pulled her in for a kiss.

"Don't hold back!" She knew that if anything happened to Bo, Trick would have her hide. "Take what you need." After that, she lost track of time for a while.

When they stepped out, and Trick angrily slammed a tray so they could clean up the mess they made of the back room, she cringed, almost able to hear the conversation she knew the man would put her through. "Shit... So much for keeping our secret." Bo agreed as Kenzi made her way over to them.

"Not a scratch! Dude, your fingers, tongue, junk... whatever... can cure cancer! But you look kinda green..." Jane was leaning heavily on the bar now, trying to catch her breath as unobtrusively as she could.

"I'm a quarter leprechaun." She shrugged it off. Frost gave her a look that spoke volumes of disbelief, and even Kenzi sounded incredulous as she turned to Bo about her lead.

It was at that moment when Jane's phone rang, and Eddie called her to come, claiming that Lucas was there. She and Bo were out the door in less than a minute.

They were practically inside the morgue when a wave of dizziness overtook her, and she reached for the nearest wall. Bo was at her side in an instant. "I took too much, didn't I?"

She shook her head, and took a deep breath to clear her head. "No, you took what you had to." They continued their way into the morgue, and looked around once they realized that Eddie's chair was empty. Bo called out to him, and after a moment of silence they heard a crash and then Eddie nearly skidded into the room.

"Jane..." He grinned at them, and the hair on the back of Jane's neck rose, "what's up?"

"Are you okay?" Bo questioned him after he gave her a once over.

He laughed in response. "Never better. So, what's up?"

Jane crossed her arms across her chest. "You called me. Sounded like you were going to soil yourself and said 'he's here'..."

Eddie's words and manner felt wrong. Something was off. So while Eddie continued to talk with Bo, she turned to look around, trying to pick things up with any of her senses. But when he told Bo that he had scared the other Hsien off, she stopped. The incredulity was clear in her voice when she turned back to him. "You did?"

Eddie nodded confidently, "yeah." The smell of blood was strong in the air. She followed it, knowing that the second Hsien might have jumped into one of the bodies lying in the room. paying almost no attention to the conversation Bo and Eddie were having as she tried to both follow the smell and figure out where the second body jumper might be hiding. She snapped out of her thoughts when Eddie shoved a table at Bo while slamming the door to the cold morgue storage area where she had found a strong scent of blood.

"Go!" She yelled to Bo, knowing that she needed to raise her voice in order to be heard from outside of the heavy door what would always lock closed in order to protect the contents of the room. "I've got this!" She couldn't see, couldn't hear anything of what was going on in the morgue as she repeatedly punched the door trying to get it to yield. But it wouldn't budge. No matter how much strength she put into her blows all she managed to do was bruise her knuckles and dent the metal.

She drew back, growling, knowing that her only way to gather enough force was to partly shift, and she yelled. Coming at the door at full speed, her muscles bulging, rippling under her clothes, her teeth extending, and jaw beginning to lengthen, she turned her shoulder, trying to gain maximum impact with what little momentum she could gather, and the door opened. She slammed into the person at the other side. Her sense of smell telling her to move fast and protect the other woman's head before it could meet floor. The smell of the other woman overwhelmed her for a moment and she took in a long breath. Getting past the smell of shampoo, body wash, and perfume and focusing on the smell of the woman herself. She muzzled at the soft skin, breathing in the mixture of scents.

"Jane?" The small voice below her snapped her back to reality. She had to shift back. Maura couldn't see her change. She pulled back, jumped to her feet, and offered her friend a hand up.

"I need to get to Bo. Maura, please leave." Jane shook her head, gathering her thoughts before shoving Maura gently in the direction of the doors, "now!" She looked across the room to the succubus and dashed off. She drew her gun, looking back at her friend both in apology and to make sure the M.E. was moving, then carried on. She was silent on her feet. Her only concern now was the body jumper, dressed as a huge man who had his hands around Bo's neck. She put her gun to his temple.

"No more bodies within reach. If I pull this trigger you'll be as dead as the body you are in." She growled, her voice low, hoping that it won't carry to Maura who was hopefully leaving. It was easy from then on, and the two had the huge man tied to a chair in no time. There was no sign of Maura, and Jane was grateful for that as she rubbed her knuckles which were sore from pounding against the door.

Once Lucas was secure, Bo pulled back and started questioning him about the missing money.

"You'll never find it." Lucas's answer was nonchalant. But, unlike Bo, Jane knew this man's bluff, and pulled up a chair close to him.

She spoke quietly, calmly, knowing that even though Bo might be intimidated by his words, she knew better. "We've got all the time in the world." She took a breath, gathering the man's scent. To her dismay, she could still smell Maura far better than she ought to. She blinked that thought away. "I can already smell that corpse starting to rot. In a few hours it would be so decomposed you won't be able to stay in it."

"If you don't get back to your own body soon Lucas, you'll be worm food." Bo growled.

Jane bit back a grin; Bo was good on her feet and caught on fast. And her tone made the fact sound like a threat. If she was a rookie cop, Jane would be proud.

"Just like all your little human puppets. Or hey, how about I lock you in one of those body drawers, huh? It's one hell of a way to spend your final hours." Bo continued

Now, there was a threat. Jane couldn't help but smirk.

"He forced me into Roger's corpse, fixed the bet at Mayer's, and said that if I don't trick that old bookie I wouldn't get my body back."

"He who, Lucas?" Jane asked, slowly getting out of her seat.

"Seymour."

"That's Mayer's nephew!" Bo explained, and Lucas nodded.

"Come on. We'll take you there, fix everything up, and you can claim your time with the oracle." Jane helped the man to his feet. "Excuse us if we don't take the cuffs off." She said mockingly, and they headed out of the morgue.

"Jane, what are you doing?" Bo fell in step beside her.

"Breathing through my mouth. Do you realize how terrible a morgue is for someone with a wolf's sense of smell?"

"You can smell like that even when you're in human form? I didn't think about that..."

Jane chucked. "I didn't think you would... And no, all my senses heighten when I shift into my wolf, but they don't turn 'Average Joe' when I'm in this body, they're still much better than yours," she shrugged, "or any non-shifters. I've learned that breathing through my mouth helps to block out the worst of it though." The door to the stairwell closed gently behind the trio, leaving behind only faint whispers of conversation in the now silent room.

It was only then that Maura pulled herself up from under Eddie's desk, her eyes wide and her jaw slightly slacked.

**~TBC~**


	5. Born to Run

Last time on Boston Bound Fae - Maura is in on the secret... 

Just teasing.. Sorry.. ;)

* * *

**Episode 5 – Born to Run**

Maura's hands were trembling slightly as she inserted the key into her front door. While she could barely see anything from her hiding spot under the desk in the morgue, she could hear every word exchanged by the two cousins. Her left hand twitched as Jane and Bo's words raced through her mind again. She shook her head slightly to clear her thoughts and turned the key, letting herself inside, closing, and locking the door behind her before moving towards her closet to remove her shoes and head to the shower.

She had gotten an alert about a report that a test that she had set had finished, and knowing the time limit placed on the case at the Mayor's insistence, she excused herself from the fundraiser and headed for the lab. What she didn't expect to find there was Jane. Especially looking like she had.

But had she looked different or was it Maura's imagination?

She shook her head and stepped into the warm spray of her shower.

When had she stripped?

She blinked.

She was positive of what she saw. There was no logical reason for her to imagine any of it. Not the extended mandible, maxilla, and nasal bones. It was absurd that her brain had created the slightly elongated canine teeth. It was preposterous that the lanky form she knew so well had grown several kilograms worth of muscle that bulged under her friend's clothes in the span of the few hours since they last saw each other.

She closed her eyes and put her head under the stream of water. The difference in Jane's touch seared into her skin. The conversation she overheard running through her head. '_You'll be as dead as the body you are in._' That sentence did not make sense! How could someone be _in_ a dead body? But the state of the corpses in the morgue when she finally got to her feet was rather obvious – they have all been moved. Each and every single one of the corpses.

And the idea of Jane threatening or shooting what seemed to be an unarmed man was fallacious. Jane would never do that. She never even drew her gun if there was another way.

'_I can already smell that corpse starting to rot._' What did she mean? '_If you don't get back to your own body soon, Lucas, you'll be worm food._' It is not possible for someone to leave their body. True, there were several claims of astral travel, but there was no proof. Jane, however, obviously believed that that man had been in a body other than his own. She knew her friend's voice and knew that the tall brunette was not lying. How is it possible?

She ran her hands through her hair.

'_Your little human puppets._' Could it be that the one Jane and Bo were talking to was not human? No. That was implausible. There were no other creatures that possessed humanoid form and would walk and talk. Or merely talk, as humans do.

'_He forced me into Roger's corpse._' Maura's mind blanked. There was no possible way for her to process this sentence. How is this possible? '_...little human puppets..._'

She reinserted her head under the now cooling water. How long had she been in the shower? She looked down at her hands; slightly swollen and waterlogged. She reached for the taps and closed off the stream of water.

Had she even washed?

She shook her head, and then ran her hands through her hair, chasing some of the water droplets out of it before opening the glass doors and reaching for her towel. Her arm froze as she noticed the one she always set aside for Jane. '_Do you realize how terrible a morgue is for someone with a wolf's sense of smell?_' If it wasn't for the next two sentences Maura would have been sure that Jane was being metaphorical '_All my senses heighten when I shift into my wolf... They're still much better than yours, or any non-shifters._'

What **was** a Shifter?

She reached for the towel.

Her mind returned to the beginning of the loop of thought.

The sounds coming from behind the locked doors of the side room had been confusing. So loud. So angry. And then Jane's speed. It was almost inhuman... Maura shivered and finally pulled the towel toward her body, enveloping herself in the thick fabric. No. Inhuman was no the expression she wanted to use. '_Your little human puppets._' There was no way that Jane could be inhuman. She was Jane. She had seen her friend in almost every state of dress and undress and the woman was definitely human. '_I shift into my wolf._'

What does that mean?

It took a long time for Maura to fall asleep that night. And when she finally did, she didn't sleep well at all, her dreams full of disjointed images and broken sentences.

~~~Boston*Fae~~~

"Maura, are you alright?" The voice startled her out of her thoughts.

Jane's voice.

Jane was directly in front of her. Frost only a few steps behind. The honey-blonde's eyes shifted quickly to him and back to her friend. "I..." her voice faltered and she raised one hand to her temple, rubbing it gently, "I didn't sleep well last night." Jane's face instantly showed her concern.

"Why? Is it the case?" Maura blinked.

"There was a report... I think it might have even reached my office by now." She half mumbled. "I will bring it up to you in a few minutes, Jane. Good morning, Barry." She smiled weakly at the pair and walked off to the elevators.

"Maura?" Jane called after her and she turned after pressing the button and calling one of the elevators. "Are we still on for later? To train for the marathon?"

Maura blinked. "Yes." She answered with a smile that she hoped reached her eyes. "The marathon is this weekend and we have already signed up, paid our admission, and received the runners' package." Frost hid a grin behind his hand.

"Not to mention all the hours we spent training for it. It would be a shame to back out now!" Jane smiled. "So we'll meet here at five, unless something pops up?" Maura nodded, and the elevators doors dinged open behind her. She waved farewell at the two detectives and stepped in, the doors closing behind her before either of the two spoke again.

"Did you two get into an argument yesterday?" Frost asked, confused.

Jane shook her head, her eyes on Maura who was now getting into the elevator, and looking down at the bag in her hands. "No. When I last saw her – last night - I told her to get out of the morgue where Bo and I were questioning Lucas."

"Do you think she might have heard you two talking?" The elevator doors closed and Jane turned her eyes back to her partner.

"I don't think so. There was no place she could have hidden in that room in that dress she was wearing... I would have seen her even with the smells messing with my head."

"The smells mess with your head, yet you go there so often..." He smirked at her.

"Shut up." She replied with a smirk of her own as she elbowed his ribs.

Down at the morgue, the medical examiner was just stepping into her office, the work setting helping her mind slowly clear away the confusion from last night. She gently closed the door behind her, and set her bag in its designated drawer in her desk. Confused indecisiveness was not going to get her anywhere. She needed to solve this puzzle and discover what had caused the exchange what she had heard, with all its odd phrases, and get herself in the frame of mind to run that marathon. She and Jane have been training so hard for the past few months.

But first, there was the case – she started up her lap top and sat to work.

~~~Boston*Fae~~~

"You're shitting me!" Kenzi almost spit her beer. The news had been so sudden that she almost wet Trick's bar when she exclaimed.

"I shit not." Frost said solemnly, putting his left hand to his heart and raising his right, while still holding his beer, in a mock salute.

"Why are they doing that to themselves? That is cruel and unusual _torture_! And your Elle Macpherson wouldn't be able to run in the heels she keeps wearing!" Frost clamped his lips shut remembering the outfit the medical examiner chose for the softball game their unit played with the drug unit a few weeks ago. "What? Spill Frost-man!"

"Doctor Isles is... an interesting human... I think you should come to some of the marathon though." He turned his eyes to Bo. "At least to support your 'cousin'. The rest of Jane's family is going to be there all day, so whenever you make it should be fine."

Bo nodded. "Why _are_ they doing this?"

Frost shrugged. "Doctor Isles pestered Jane about it for a few months, Jane eventually caved." Kenzi made a whipping sound, and he grinned, "I said nothing of the sort. Besides, Jane takes up almost any excuse to run. We measured it once - she can _sprint_ for 20 kilometers, so running about twice that at less than half speed? That's peanuts for her." He paused, thinking. "I think that was a century ago..." Trick nodded silently as he wiped another glass not far from where they stood. "Think I can throw in some flabby jokes?" Frost questioned the small barkeeper with a grin.

"Only if you don't like how your face looks right now." Trick grinned back at him and took up another glass to clean.

"So why are they training?" Bo asked, confused.

"It's a part of keeping our cover. Wolves are long distance runners when they need to be. Jane told me that she had crossed from one end of Europe to another in her wolf form – about 2200 miles, in less than two days. That's about as fast as doing it in a car, on the highways. Only there were no highways back then."

"How do you know?" Kenzi interjected.

"Highways became a thing only after cars gained popularity. I've known Jane for much longer."

"Dude," Kenzi threw a napkin at him, earning herself a reproachful look from Trick, "how old are you?!"

"512. I don't advise asking Jane that though: we were both raised knowing that it's very bad manners to ask a woman her age."

"What is the deal with her and Maura though?" Frost turned his attention from Kenzi to Bo, and Trick set the last glass and the rag in his hands down, turning his attention fully to them. Frost shook his head.

"No. Nope. I'm not getting into that with you guys. Jane's very protective of her personal life and I'm not going to be the one who breaches her confidence."

"The sexual chemistry there is _intense_." Bo tried, hoping that maybe prompting the man would help him open up, or slip up.

"I know. But Jane will do nothing about it. She stopped doing casual relationships a while ago, and we don't date humans." From either side of him, Bo and Kenzi raised eyebrows at the dark skinned detective. "It's true!" Trick agreed, and Frost carried on. "We don't date humans, we feed off them."

Kenzi made a rude noise and Bo rolled her eyes.

"Stop that." Trick leaned on the counter as he spoke. "It's against the laws with both the Light and the Dark. Only very _very_ special cases _might_ gain the Ash or the Morrigan's ear and in most cases even that won't help the couple. Besides, humans that have not been claimed cannot know about us." Kenzi pointed at herself.

"Eh, hello, Trickmister?"

"You _were_ claimed – by Bo."

"What? When?" The two friends exchanged looks

"As soon as you," he pointed at Bo, "said 'she's with me' the first time you both stepped in this bar. Kenzi," he added almost exasperated, "do you really think you would have been able to come in here if you weren't claimed? Someone would have fed on you long ago."

"Damn..." Kenzi sat back in her stool, righted herself and turned so that she could lean back on the bar instead of falling off her chair. "So..." she turned her eyes to Bo and Frost, "I'm your property?"

"You're my _**friend**_." Bo answered adamantly. Kenzi smiled at her. "Wait so, back up – Maura has no idea, and Jane is..." she paused momentarily, "training with her to run a marathon?"

Frost nodded and checked his watch. "They should be finishing their run and grabbing some food soon."

"Did Jane tell you that we bumped into Maura at the morgue the other day?" He nodded. "She looked like she was coming from something super fancy. I don't understand how she can wear those things on an everyday basis..."

"She was coming from an event actually – there was a fundraiser of the Isles foundation that she apparently stepped out of."

"The Isles foundation?!" Kenzi turned in her chair so fast that she needed to grab the bar to keep from falling.

"Kenzi, how many of those did you have?" Bo asked, concerned, as she gestured at the beer with her chin.

"My chair is wobbly." Kenzi jumped off the stool to illustrate her point by shaking the seat, Trick frowned and headed to the back room, mumbling about tools. "She's an Isles of _The Isles_? Those people are Richie Rich rich! Scrooge McDuck rich!"

"Smaug rich." Frost deadpanned. Two sets of eyes turned to him. "What? I liked Tolkien, he was a fun guy."

Kenzi rolled her eyes. "We should be friends with her – we could get anything! We could redo the whole club house! And have an office! We can stop meeting clients in diners, and..."

"Hold it." Bo cut her off. "We are not asking for money from someone we hardly know."

"She is 'married' to your 'cousin'!" The younger girl gestured as she spoke. "She can invest in us!" Bo rolled her eyes

"She can't really." Frost cut in, "she told us that nearly all of her money is tied up in… things… in the bank. I don't remember in what exactly, and she lives mostly on her salary and a small stipend." Kenzi's face fell.

"So you have a poor rich friend? That's lame..."

"Let's get back to the point here?" Bo tried to return her friends' attention to their previous point. "Maura, the marathon, this whole thing – how do we act?"

"Like you did since we started working together – like you're cousins. Have you met Frankie by the way?"

"Who's that?"

"One of Jane's 'brothers'," he made air-quotes along with the word.

"Seriously, Frost-man – air quotes?" Kenzi piped in, he ignored her.

"He's not her real brother. He's a cop down at the station. You should drop by tomorrow and I'll introduce you. It might look bad if you met for the first time during the run." Bo nodded her agreement.

"Do you think they'll come here? Jane and Maura, I mean."

"To a Fae-bar? Not a chance."

"Do you have Frankie's number? We can meet him tonight." Frost took out his phone and scrolled though it for a moment.

"Yup. I'll give him a call and see if he can meet us here."

~~~Boston*Fae~~~

"What happened? Why are you all shut back here?" Kenzi poked her head into the homicide department's computer room.

"Not now, Kenzi." Frost grumbled at her, not looking up from the screen as his fingers flew across the keyboard. "We're busy."

"What are you even doing back here?" Korsak questioned from his side of the room.

"We thought we'd see if you wanted to head out and see Jane or her family with us." Bo answered him from behind Kenzi.

"We got you, Jane. We're plugged in." Frost took his hands off the keys momentarily as Jane's image came on the screen.

"OK, who knows?" Jane spoke in a low voice.

"I've briefed the Captain." Jane nodded at Korsak's words, and Bo stepped inside and into view of the screen. Jane scowled.

"We're here too. But we're staying put," she leveled a look at Kenzi, "unless you need us."

"Is the Captain going to let me run this from the ground? And Bo, stay put. we are keeping this silent. So no trips to Trick's, no nothing." Bo nodded.

"I'll run interference for you with the Captain." The older man drew the focus of the conversation back to the matter at hand.

They exchanged information about the victim's name, age, and the appearance of the scene. Frost immediately beginning to run the details though the databases. "Sit down." Korsak ordered the two women. "If our Captain notices you're here it isn't on our asses." He motioned between himself and Frost.

"No, I," Kenzi cut in, "am going to leave. You guys know what you're doing. And I would much rather spend the day sitting on the couch at the clubhouse watching TV than sitting here," she gestured at the room with her left hand, "watching whatever." The two detectives turned to her. "I won't talk to anyone about this – but I want the full story later! Laters!" And with that and a wave she turned and left. Bo pulled up a chair behind Frost and Korsak.

During the next few minutes Bo was listening silently to the exchange taking place in front of her. The hypotheses raised and discarded but the three detectives. The random information given out by Maura. Korsak's identification of how the man was killed and the meaning of this information for both the case and the runners of the marathon.

"Now what?" She asked quietly as they ended the video chat. The two detectives leaned back in their chairs and turned to her.

"Doctor Isles needs to perform an autopsy. We will know more once she finds new information." Korsak explained.

She shook her head.

"What is it?" Korsak asked.

"I'm just thinking - poor Jane. She told me that she doesn't like the dead people smell."

"You're confusing her with Frost here!" The older detective laughed as he clapped the man next to him on the shoulder. "He's the one that throws up at the scenes! Jane's an old pro. She's fine." She turned questioning eyes to the man sitting beside him, who shrugged sheepishly.

"Jane is fine. They're out in the open air, not the morgue. And they're busy." Frost reassured her.

"Like that would stop you from gagging..." the older man teased and stood up. "I'm going to update the Captain and get us some coffee. I'll bring you some too, but stay out of sight."

They spent long tense moments waiting for updates from the field. "So..." Bo swiveled in her chair, "is your work is always this interesting?" Frost grinned at her.

An alert came on screen, capturing Frost's attention.

"We have another one, mile 12. Got you, Frankie, go to line four."

"We need to talk to Jane." Korsak added, and Frost, nodding, opened the video chat again. Bo, once again – moved a bit back, out of the way.

"Frankie was calling in from the ground." Frost stood and moved back, allowing Jane to see the room behind him. From the back Bo gave a small wave.

"Please tell me he's OK." The worry in Jane's voice was evident and very clear.

"He's fine." Frost reassured her, but another runner just went down by mile 12." Jane stiffened at the news of another casualty. Keeping people silent about one victim was hard enough but another silent about two murders was going to be 10 times harder. The chance of a panic causing harm to civilians, Fae and human alike just got that much bigger. It would be that much harder to contain. They had to keep this down and find out who was doing this.

Over the comm they could hear Frankie continuing to ask for help.

On the other side of the comm channel, Maura was making her was towards her friend. Jane didn't need to look, hear, or smell the other woman to know it was her as she made her way over so that they stood side by side.

They haven't talked about the morgue yet. About what Maura might have seen, and Jane was still hoping against all hope that her friend hadn't seen or heard anything out of the ordinary and that this was why she was yet to be questioned. Not that her friend was waiting until after the marathon was over so that this matter could have her full attention.

"Is that your cousin sitting in the back?" Maura asked quietly as they continued to listen to the reports.

"Yes. She wandered in and they're keeping her so that the word won't spread." She turned her eyes to the figure of the brunette on the screen in front of them. "Bo, where's Kenzi?"

"Most likely at the clubhouse. We got here just as this shit broke loose, so she left before the lock down."

Jane nodded.

~~~Boston*Fae~~~

Maura kept an eye on Jane from the moment they started running and even more so once they had gotten into the tent. And she was sure of two things: firstly – that working under these conditions was absolutely horrible. And secondly, Jane was getting more irritated by the minute.

She understood that her friend was feeling stressed and trying to solve this case before people, be it the runners or the media, caught scent of what was going on inside this medical tent. But she could not help but wonder if there was something more. After all, she has seen her friend stressing over cases before. Even ones where there was another reason for the woman's anxiety.

She allowed herself a minute shake of her head to clear the thoughts away as she looked into the entry wound of the second victim that was brought into the tent. Jane had already explained to the man overseeing the marathon about the similarity between the two wounds and therefore of the likely connection between the two men. Suggesting to him that the two men were targeted for a yet unknown reason and demanding that he keep his cool, and not allow these data to reach the throng of people outside.

He had threatened her then, saying that he would drop all matters into her hands if things went awry. The detective surprised her then by showing the man her scarred palms. That physical relic that marred the otherwise smooth skin on her hands on both sides from where the psychotic Doctor Hoyt stabbed her. She almost never showed her palms to anyone. Even going so far as to hide the backs of her hands on occasion by placing them in her pockets. That blatant break of character gave the Chief Medical Examiner pause.

It has something to do with giving into fear, Maura realized as she spoke to her friend, proclaiming her fearless as she took on the city's Mayor. But she knew that she needed some distance from the detective. She needed to work, she needed to examine the bodies in front of her, and she needed to think. There were two very different topics that she needed to consider. So she did what she knew would irritate the detective enough to make her put some distance between them for a while – she produced some random trivia, tying giving into fear with death, and mentioning how a person dies a little each day no matter what they do. Jane left her side within seconds.

Both victims' chest cavities were badly damaged. So when detectives Frost and Korsak contacted them saying that the ballistics report came back and the bullets were 9mm hollow point bullets, commonly called 'hit-man bullets', she was not surprised. It explained her findings well. She made her way to the screen as Frost was explaining that a silencer was what kept the shots from being heard.

"Push in more," she asked the man and Frost zoomed into the image of the fragmented bullet. "There are synthetic fragments in the casing. It looks like various polymeric resins."

Jane paused. "What is that?" She asked, confused.

"Pleather." Something started to add up. She could hear Frost running a search as she followed her train of thought to its end, leading her to take a marker and call Jane to her side as she illustrated the trajectory of the bullet from the entry wound onward with the marker on the man's chest.

"That's it!" Jane exclaimed. "That's it. The suspect is shooting from a fanny-pack. That explains the pleather, why no one noticed anything strange..."

"Jane," Bo's voice came from the computer, calling the two back to the screen, "your two victims went to high school together, right outside Boston." Frost pulled the images to the screen. Two images of each man, four pictures in total – two currant and two of them wearing a school uniform of some sort.

"Whoa..." Frost's voice drew them back from examining the two pictures. "We've got something big: both names just popped up on an old criminal case..."

"What kind of case?" Jane asked.

"I don't know. It's sealed. The files are in the court house."

Jane swore. "A court order will take hours. And that's if we can even get a judge..." she grumbled. Maura moved away slightly, noticing just how close she was to Jane.

After a tease from Korsak, Frost declared that he was going to try to hack into the file from their terminal at the station, and everyone stood by as he worked, barely daring to breathe as his fingers tapped the keyboard, trying to gain access to the sealed files.

In those moments Maura couldn't help but turn her eyes from the two dead bodies, to Jane, to the screen showing the photos of the two men, to the one showing the two detectives and Jane's cousin. Something did not seem to fit. Not something about their current case. So far things seem to even be going out of their way to accommodate them, except of course for the sub-standard conditions for performing the autopsies and storing the two dead men. No, this was something that had to so with the other matter on the honey-blonde doctor's mind – this had to do with Jane and Bo.

She remembered Jane saying that their familial relation is a distant one. But she could find absolutely no similarities in their features barring those shared by all human beings. Their hair was different, both in color and texture. The shape of their face didn't match, nor did that of their eyes; the proportion between their foreheads and the other two thirds of their face; the shape of their noses, lips, chin, and jaw bones. Nothing was similar. The relative physiognomy was not quite right. After this analysis - Maura was convinced that the two were not related.

But then why did Jane lie?

"Jane," Frost's voice once again drew her away from her thoughts, "our two... victims..." he grit his teeth around the word, "raped a 15 year old girl." He kept reading them details from the file. Of how the girl, Samantha Brown, was raped and beaten. At Maura's request he showed them the picture evidence of the brutal beating and uncovered the video where they had filmed their deeds.

It was only due to the third rapist's wealthy family that the incident didn't go to trial. Maura felt sick. She hated when people used their money in such a way – buying freedom of one of their own who wronged another. Even if the parents were attempting to protect their son – the girl was worth more than that. More than whatever was spent to silence this case. Her mouth set in a grim line.

Jane and Frost were still reviewing the data they had discovering that the footage was never shown and that the third rapist was still running in the race. When Jane mumbled that she was sorely tempted to let the shooter finish the man off a part of Maura couldn't help but agree.

~~~Boston*Fae~~~

Darkness had blanketed the city by the time Bo, Kenzi, and Lauren stood beside Frank and Angela Rizzoli who were holding about seven feet of crime scene tape between them. The five were looking down the street to where Jane and Maura were running up to them, followed by Frankie on his bike lighting the road a bit more for the two.

They could barely hear the runners, until at the point where Bo could make out lighthearted teasing about runner's high.

"Are you kidding me?" Jane was clearly audible now. "I was born to run." The words reminded her of the talk she and Kenzi had with Frost only three days before, and she smiled as the two runners picked up speed for one final near- sprint, and crossed the finish line, tearing though the tape as they did, shoulder to shoulder.

They all hugged, congratulating the two on finishing the course despite the day's events as Frankie circled around them on the bicycle, and Angela practically shouted her praises to the two women. Then Maura stepped in front of Lauren and everyone stopped.

"Congratulations, Maura. That was quite a feat! Well... Both of your feats, so I suppose – those were quite some... feats?" Her tone became more contemplative as she continued and the last half sentence was far more question that statement. Maura, still breathing hard from the run, just smiled at her.

"Thank you, Lauren. And thank you for coming here to support Jane and myself."

Lauren's smile grew, signaling clearly to Bo that the woman was feeling more at ease. "It's my pleasure. Bo invited me, and the Rizzoli's are really nice." She glanced at the two who were now standing on either side of Jane, smiling. "I'd love to hear how you preformed the autopsies sometime though. The conditions out there were probably horrible."

"More than horrible." Maura agreed. "However, we can talk about this later. I'm sure the others here don't want to hear about it, and frankly – I really want to shower..."

Jane emphatically agreed to that statement while the others smiled or laughed.

"Just one question," Bo turned to Kenzi, the only one who has yet to hug the two sweaty women, "why do your leotards say P.U.K.E.?" Maura launched into an explanation, but Bo turned her eyes to Jane, whose chi told her of the woman's thoughts. It was very clear – even now, tired, and sweat-soaked - the wolf-shifter found the honey-blonde medical examiner attractive. And that pull, that draw, was stronger than what the tall raven haired detective felt for anyone. Including the succubus who occasionally shared her bed.

She tightened her jaw to conceal a grin. This was something she needed to get involved in.


	6. Keep Your Nose to the Grindstone

**Episode 6 – Keep Your Nose to the Grindstone**

"The sky is not even awake... What are you doing up?" Kenzi rubbed her eyes as she made her way into the clubhouse kitchen, where Bo was sitting on a stool, her head resting on one hand. "Or... did you go out after we came back?" Kenzi pouted as she stopped next to her friend, and the succubus leaned gently onto her friend's shoulder.

"No, I went to sleep. But I was tossing and turning for half the night so I decided to come here and coffee." Her response ended in a yawn as she gestured to the empty mug in front of her.

The younger girl ran her fingers through her friend's hair, and tilted her head to the one resting on her shoulder. "What's the matter, Bobo?" Bo sighed, closing her eyes.

"Lauren's tests are getting harder." She shrugged. "So on the one hand I'm more tired because of them, but on the other hand I keep fearing that I'll mess up and hurt someone once we get out of the lab, and that's keeping me awake."

"We can watch something boring if you want. I'm sure there is some terrible documentary that will have us catching Z's before we can blink."

Bo yawned and stretched, her neck and hands popping as she moved. "I don't think I should. We have that meeting at 11, don't we?" Kenzi nodded, frowning.

"So it's just the Doc?" Kenzi tilted her head as she moved towards one of the cupboards and took a mug for herself before turning back to her friend and sitting across from her.

"Not really. I mean – since I came down something has been running through my mind, but it's not what was keeping me up..." Kenzi reached for the coffee and poured some into her mug.

"Should I get the sword, or the handcuffs?" Bo grinned tiredly.

"Neither. I think... " She paused, thinking. "Maybe the handcuffs..." She paused again. "I was thinking about Jane and Maura, and the whole situation between those two."

"You could **definitely** feed off their eye-sex." Kenzi nodded and brought her mug to her lips, only to spit it out again. "This is disgusting! Where is the sugar?"

Bo wrinkled her nose. "_That_ was disgusting."

"That was _understandable_." Kenzi countered and turned to look for the sugar. "So – what's with the Fantastic Eye-sex Duo?"

"That's just it – their chemistry is _off the charts_! And for some reason, everyone we talk to about this is sticking to some pointless age-old custom about them not being together."

"But what's it to us, Bobo? And Jane doesn't want us near anything that even smells of Gisele."

"What's with the model names?"

"Have you seen her?!" Bo shook her head, smiling.

"I don't get the big fuss. It's not like they have a problem with Lauren and I getting together," Kenzi cut her off with a raised eyebrow.

"Not the same, Bobo, you opted out of all their fancy clubs and titles and shit. You also didn't have all that crap crammed into your head as a kid." Bo sighed.

"I know. I just really think that they need to get over themselves."

"Yeah, _they_. I'm not sure Heidi,"

"It kinda makes it seem like you can't remember her name, you know." Kenzi rolled her eyes and sat back down, taking a drink of her now sweetened coffee.

"Fine, I'm not sure that _Maura_, is even aware of anything. You saw her – she isn't exactly people-y."

Bo shook her head. "Yeah, I noticed. It's almost sad."

"You could succubus her..." Kenzi suggested while wiggling her fingers. Bo frowned.

"I think Jane might kill me if she found out... Once for succubusing her friend, and a second time for succubusing Maura to sleep with her... Besides, they deserve a better first time than doing it in a back alley, or somewhere like that..."

"Romantic, Bobo? I wasn't completely sure you had it in you..." Bo stuck her tongue out at the younger girl.

"What do you think?"

"About those two getting down and dirty?" Bo nodded.

Kenzi shrugged.

"Jane's cool, I suppose. But what about you once she gets with Blondie?"

"What about me?" Bo asked, confused.

"You two keep boinking when you need to heal."

"So?" Kenzi raised a finger to her friend's lips.

"Shh, I'm not done. You two keep boinking when you need to heal – what will you do if she decides to go all monogamous?" She removed her hand.

Bo shrugged. "That's why I'm working with Lauren – so that I won't need to rely only on her for healing."

"Not what I mean, and you know it." Kenzi deadpanned. "You run to her when you're in trouble, that's sure to make you... attached..." Bo grinned and rose from her seat, moving to her friend and hugging her from behind.

"Are you jealous, Kenz? You know that _you're_ my best friend!" Kenzi grabbed the arms surrounding her, returning the hug.

"Yeah. No. It's the whole not wanting to see you moping on the floor in sweats eating ice-cream since your fuck-buddy doesn't want to play anymore..."

Bo let her go, and moved to the freezer. "I kinda want ice-cream now..." She opened the door and took out a carton, grabbing two spoons as she turned back to the table. "But that's why I'm working with Lauren." She sat down. "I'm just afraid that once we get to trying it for real that I won't be able to control myself, and I'll kill that person..." She opened the carton, and took some ice-cream before pushing it towards her friend.

"You'll do fine, Bobo..." Kenzi tried to reassure her friend. Bo shrugged.

"I won't know that until we actually do it..." She sighed. "But you're changing the subject!" She accused and grabbed the ice-cream.

"Hey!" Kenzi yelled indignantly, "I don't know what you want to hear... Jane's cool and all, I don't really care who she's with, as long as you're not hurting, and she's happy with them." She shrugged. "No give me back the ice-cream!"

Bo grabbed the container and held it out of reach, ignoring her friend's yell of protest.

"Only if you promise to help me figure this out."

"Fine, I'll help you ship them!" Bo lowered her hand, confused.

"You'll help me what?"

Kenzi made a grab for the container, managing to take it out of the succubus' hand. "I'll help you let them together. But it's mostly going to get us yelled at." She shrugged and took a large spoonful of ice-cream.

~~~Boston*Fae~~~

She had almost managed to forget her uncertainty and discomfort during the marathon and the commotion that occurred during and after that incident. Almost, but not quite. She had banished the repetitious phrases from her mind. It was one thing to run a thought-line in a loop obsessively when a person was in shock. But it has been over 48 hours since she overheard Jane and Bo in the morgue. Moreover, it was nearly 72 hours. She was no longer in shock. There was no excuse for that kind of behavior.

So she did what she knew was the best cure for lack of information – she researched.

Sitting in front of her computer the tabs the she opened during the slow hours, usually showing a variety of shoes were instead open to searches regarding what she had heard. But she felt that she had gained no actual knowledge. Wolf shifter showed her a combination of mythical werewolves, and the Wolf effect. Causing her to either dismiss the notions about the mythological being true or reminisce about her undergraduate days when she had taken a course on optics as she looked into the matter. 'Body jumping' in every variation she could think of on simply lead to more paranormal, or various kinds on physical activity.

She saved some of the links about the latter for future reading.

After half a day of research she felt no closer to answering any of her questions.

She leaned back in her office chair, closing her eyes, and rubbing her temples. She needed to expand her research.

"Doctor Isles?" She opened her eyes and smiled at the man standing at the doorway to her office as she lowered her hands.

"Hello Detective Korsak, please, come in. How may I help you?"

He stepped into the office with an apologetic smile, a small plastic bag in his hand. "I'm sorry to bother you. Are you ok? You look frustrated. Is it a case?"

Her smile broadened, his concern for her was endearing. She gestured to one of the chair in front of her desk. "Please have a seat." She shut off her laptop. "No, it's something personal. You have no need for concern." From the way Jane and Bo spoke, it seemed that whatever the 'wolf shifter' was, it was in no way new to Jane. So if it has not given her, or any of her partners, problems in the past, there is no reason to assume that it should do so now that Maura has discovered its existence.

Korsak sat down heavily and placed the bag in a clear spot on her desk. She raised her eyebrow at him. He smiled sheepishly, as he revealed the contents of the bag. "I was coming back from lunch and passed a fruit stand. They had these small baskets of strawberries, and I thought I remembered you mentioning that you have a pet tortoise."

She beamed at him. "I do – a Geochelone sulcata," his face turned confused, "an African spurred tortoise." She explained. "His name is Bass. Thank you! That is very thoughtful of you!"

"You're welcome." He seemed to relax a bit at her obviously genuine happiness. "They are very pretty and I figured that even if I was wrong, you would probably enjoy them. Have you had him long?"

Maura nodded. "For over two decades now." He raised his eyebrows, clearly impressed.

"That's a rare pet to have, and not easy to look after."

"I beg to differ." She countered. "Bass doesn't need to be taken outside to exercise nor does he necessarily need to be trained to relive himself in specific areas." She paused momentarily in thought and Korsak took the opportunity to try and explain himself.

"I meant with their diet. And the fact that most of the people who attempt to raise tortoises, that I know, are children who after a while grow bored of this kind of pet."

Maura sighed. "Yes. I believe I know what you are referring to. I have never understood people who take a pet into their home without being fully committed to taking care of them."

"Some people just find out that it's a bigger commitment than they thought. But yes, I agree. That's why I only take in mutts, and older dogs. You know – the kinds that people don't really want anymore." He explained with a shrug.

"How many dogs do you have?"

"Two at the moment. But the number changes. Some can have a better home than one with me, so they move on."

"Like Jo Friday?" She nearly held her breath. This might be the opportunity to talk with the person who has been closest to Jane for years, since Jane's rookie days. If anyone outside if Jane's family would know about any connections that she had to wolves, Korsak would probably be it.

"Like Jo Friday." He agreed with a nod, and then turned thoughtful. "But Jo Friday is a special little girl."

She tilted her head in question at his statement.

"Most dogs don't particularly like to Jane. They get stressed, or run away, when she comes near."

"Really?" Maura was confused. She hadn't noticed this type of behavior before.

"Well," he corrected himself, "most big dogs, anyway. Like the kind that I usually keep at my house. Although some just seem to vie for her attention..."

She leaned back in her chair. "Why do you think that happens?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure." He shrugged. "It's like they are reacting to a threat to their territory. Like a bigger, stronger, dog just came to threaten their place. Jo Friday taking a liking to her like she did was a happy surprise." Maura smiled.

"And this happens mostly with larger canines?"

"Yes. There was one time, not long after she made homicide where we went to talk to..." he trailed off, trying to recall the name, "I forget. But one of the wealthier families, and they had two rottweilers in their yard, and they would not settle down. Finally, the owner had someone cage them so that we could talk."

"What about wolves? Have you even encountered wolves in your work with Jane?"

He thought for a moment, the confusion clear on his face. "Not that I remember. Why do you ask?"

"I heard Jane and her cousin talk about what sounded like Jane's wolf. And I do not wish to tell Jane that I have been eavesdropping on her conversation. Since we were talking of animals I thought I might ask you first. Are you sure that you have never heard Jane mention anything about having a wolf, or anything that might relate to wolves?"

The more she spoke, the more confused he seemed. Once she finished her explanation, he rubbed his fingers along his jaw-line. His eyes narrowing a bit as he thought deeply, trying to recall anything that might apply as an answer to the question the moan before him posed.

Finally he lowered his hand and looked back at her. "Honestly, I don't remember. But I can ask her if you'd like."

"No!" She started a little at the suggestion, then admonished herself for not expecting it of the man. "It really is all right, Detective. I will find a way to raise the matter with her."

"Are you sure? It's not a problem."

She smiled at him. "Quite sure. But again – thank you. And again - thank you for the strawberries, it was very thoughtful of you."

He smiled and stood, nodding at her as he got to his feet, taking that as his cue to leave. "You're welcome. And if you change your mind about that wolf thing, let me know."

"I will." She promised. A few parting words were exchanged and the older man headed for the elevators.

He was not very surprised to find that his ride stopped in the lobby, but was almost amused when Frankie Rizzoli stepped in with him. "Hi Frankie, you look like hell."

The younger man gave him a flat look. "Thanks. Have you seen Jane?"

"She should be in the bullpen." Frankie raised his eyebrows.

"She's in the bullpen and you're coming from the morgue? Did she and Maura fight?"

"How do you know I'm coming from the morgue?"

"The only things below the lobby are the morgue and the archives. You'd have gotten me to carry boxes for you if you were going to the archives." Frankie deadpanned and Korsak chuckled, clapping the younger man on the shoulder, and causing him to take a small step forward. Frankie rolled his eyes.

"That's true! As far as I know they didn't fight, I just bought some strawberries on my way back from lunch and thought I'd drop them off with Doctor Isles for her tortoise."

Frankie smirked. "Developing a crush on the Doc?"

Korsak scoffed. "You just want something to gossip about." The elevator doors opened, and the two men stepped out.

"Aha," Frankie laughed, "just remember that Jane would run you up a flag pole if you even tried." Korsak rolled his eyes.

"Nobody has ever managed to run me up a flag pole."

"Were you too fat even as a kid?" Frost swiveled in his chair to face the two men as he asked this, and Jane raised her head and smirked.

"Hardy har har." Korsak replied flatly and went to his desk, grumbling as he did about how people used to have better respect back in the day. Frankie, Frost, and Jane all exchanged looks, and then broke out laughing. "Would you stop that?" He all but yelled at them.

It took a few more moments but Jane finally leaned back in her chair, and turned her attention to Frankie. "So. What brings you up here?"

He handed her a card. "This. Got if from a girl at the scene that Drugs were looking over. I thought you'd want to look at it before I hand it over to Jones." She picked up the 3.5x2 inch piece of paper and flipped it over to look at the printed side.

"She's here? What did she have to do with this?"

"Bystander." He answered flatly. Frost leaned forward in his seat.

"Who's that?"

"Melody, an Aurai." Frost looked at her, confused.

She lowered he voice, leaning closer to him. "She's a wind nymph. And a very powerful one at that. Do you remember the Eyemouth Disaster, back in 1881?"

"I remember eventually reading about it. I wasn't in the UK at the time." He shrugged.

"Well, she caused it. The Ash put her in jail for a century for it."

Jane leaned back in her chair. "So how do you know her?" Frost questioned and Jane scratched the back of her neck.

"We were involved for a while." Her hand moved from her neck to partially cover her mouth. "Our breakup was the trigger to that storm..."

Frost raised an eyebrow. "I didn't quite get that."

"Jane broke up with her and that triggered that..." Frankie drifted off, unsure how to finish that sentence. Frost nodded slowly.

"Lucky for me, you two have the same sense of hearing. So are you gonna hide?" Jane too leaned back in her chair.

"There's no use. She's probably seen me already." She looked up in Frankie's direction, her eyes stopping on a spot just over his right shoulder. "But maybe getting out of the city for a bit won't be such a bad thing..." She was lost in her thoughts for a brief moment before grinning. "Are you working this weekend, Frankie?"

"No, why?"

"Want to go running?" He grinned back at her.

"We'll need to ask for time off." Jane's shrug seemed to ask for the point. "Just saying."

"Well, let's go." They both did their best to wipe the grins from their faces as they attempted to make sure they would not be called in. Both knowing that if they took the weekend to run, they will neither be in range or in possession of their cellphones. When they stepped back out of Cavanaugh's office they were both grinning again.

"I'll go take this to Jones." Frankie said as they parted and Jane gave a nod before returning to her desk.

"How did her know about Melody? You weren't... with them at the time and I don't think he was even born yet." Frost asked quietly as Jane passed by his desk.

"He's nine years younger than that disaster. But I told them when they let her out. I thought it would be the best course of action, all things considered..." He nodded slowly.

"So running, eh? Should I count you out," she cut him off.

"Of everything this weekend." The elevator doors swished open and Maura stepped out holding a folder against her hip. "We'll pack light and just..." instead of finishing her sentence she gestured with her hand, extending it from close to her chest forward, her palm facing Frost.

Maura stopped beside her. "Pack light?" She questioned as she handed the file over.

Jane looked up and smiled, accepting it, and flipping it open. "Yeah – Frankie and I just made plans to go hiking this weekend. Just us, a tent, a couple of sleeping bags – whatever we can carry." Maura frowned.

"This is sudden."

"I know. We're not even sure where we're going yet." Jane responded, knowing her friend's likely line of question. "But we both have some free time, so we decided that why not?"

"That's hardly a decision, Jane." Maura's tone was disapproving

"You know what I mean." Jane countered. Frost shook his head from behind his screen, clearly amused. "What is it, Forst?"

He was quick to answer, "nothing. What did you bring us, Doctor Isles?"

"The toxicology report on our latest victim. His alcohol levels were 0.02% which is two times over the..."

"We know." Jane cut her off with a fond smile. "Anything else?"

"You do have the file in your hand, Jane."

"That's true." Jane conceded. "But you are right here too, and if you tell us it will save the time of me reading it then telling Frost and Korsak."

Maura sighed.

"That seems to be all. Mr. Woods was inhibriated when he got behind the wheel, and that cost him his life. Unless CSU say that his car has been tampered with, of course." Jane closed the file and set it on her desk.

"Of course." She agreed solemnly and Frost kicked her under the desk.

"We will talk later, Jane. Goodbye detectives." She nodded at the two men as she left.

"Jane, you were kind of an ass."

She sighed. "Yeah... I'll go apologize later. I'll even offer to buy her dinner."

"It's not like you and Frankie need to plan much anyway." Frost agreed with a shrug.

~~~Boston*Fae~~~

"Doctor Lewis." She was proud of herself for managing to keep the sigh out of her voice. She was planning on going home in 15 minutes, and a call from an unknown number was never good.

"Good evening Doctor," there was a slight pause, "Lauren, this is Maura Isles." To say that Lauren was surprised would be an understatement. "Jane Rizzoli's friend."

"Yes! Maura. Hi, I remember you. I was just surprised that you've called."

"I apologize if this is a bad time..." Even through the phone it was not difficult to see that the other woman was uncomfortable.

"It's quite all right. I seem to have a few quiet moments and I'm getting off work soon." Lauren looked around the lab, running through her mental checklist for the end of the day. "Tom, be careful with that! We only have one sample of those..." She called out to the tech that seemed to be insistent on moving more vials of blood than he could conveniently transport. Even if they were all placed in racks.

She sighed gratefully, and nodded when another tech came to his aid. "I'm sorry. You were saying?" She leaned against an empty bed.

"I was wondering if you might be free for lunch, or dinner, sometime this weekend." Lauren scratched lightly at her head.

"I'm on call, but I think I should be able to manage dinner if we don't leave it too vague."

"Good." Lauren could hear the relief in the other woman's voice. "How about tomorrow at seven?" She swallowed hard. Involving herself with someone who was not only a human but close to a Fae's life, while not knowing about the Fae was not going to be easy. She just hoped that she was misreading this whole situation that would lead the human closest to Jane to contact her in the weekend when Jane was away.

"Sure. But, Maura, this is not..." She took a deep breath, wondering if maybe an approach that did not contain a negative in the sentence would be a better one. "Is this a date?"

Maura was silent for a brief moment.

"No." Lauren raised her eyebrows. "I just thought we should talk. Maybe get to know each other. You are dating Jane's cousin, aren't you?" She could not help but feel a bit silly after hearing the medical examiner's words. But it has been so long since she had any actual human friends. And the stunted, awkward, conversation didn't help.

"I am. I'm sorry. It's just that the phrasing you used seemed indicate that you might want something different than just a dinner." On the other end of the line Maura chuckled lightly, and Lauren could feel herself relax.

"I apologize. This is moderately awkward for me too, seeing as I seldom invite people, who aren't Jane, out to dinner."

Lauren nodded. Then realizing that the other woman can't see her, decided to move on. "Do you have a place in mind, or would you like me to think of someplace?"

Maura paused momentarily before responding. "Do you know 1369 Coffee house at Inman square?" Lauren smiled.

The Ash stepped into the lab and she bolted upright, running a hand on her lab-coat to make sure it wasn't wrinkled.

"Of course. Shall we meet there?"

"I think that would be best." Maura agreed with a smile. "Thank you for agreeing to this." Lauren swallowed hard.

"My boss just came in, I need to go."

"I won't keep you. Have a good day and I will see you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow," Lauren agreed. "Bye." She heard Maura's farewell and ended the call. "I'm sorry."

"It's all right." The Ash said with an almost invisible smile. "You have a right to your free time."

She nodded, her eyes not meeting his.

"Have you met someone?" Her head snapped up. She had spent enough time with the man to be able to tell when his tone changed.

"Doctor Maura Isles. She's acquainted with Jane."

"I see." He paused and she stood rigidly. She belonged to him, and she knew that if he told her that she could not go than she would have to obey him. She held her breath.

It has been so long since she had a human friend.

"Be careful with that one, Lauren." He said in his low, quiet voice. "If I am to believe what I hear - she is a very intelligent, and a very perceptive, human. It would not be good if she was to start asking questions about the Fae."

Lauren nodded, her shoulders sagging in relief.

"I know. I am not planning to tell her anything. She thinks that Jane and Bo are related, and that Bo and I are involved, so she wants to get to know me better as part of her association with Jane's life." She raised his hand and she fell silent.

"I know of your involvement with the succubus."

Lauren's eyes grew wide and she raised her head. "But I would like you to get even closer with her. She is coming very close to a crossroad where she cannot take a certain path. If you will have the power to deter her from it when the time comes," he took a breath, "than that would be best. And you will be rewarded."

She looked down again. Anger and shame filling her. She was his property. She could not refuse. And yet this was so very demeaning.

She nodded her understanding.

"Good." He concluded. "Now, I understand you have received the samples of Cockatrice and Alanc blood." She nodded. "Very well. Once you discover anything - let me know."

"Should I stay and rush this?"

"Start tomorrow. I would much rather you were refreshed while you worked. But delegate all other non-emergency procedures. I want this to be your top priority." She nodded. "Good night."

"Good night." She echoed. But she was already speaking to his back.  
.

* * *

.

Thank you all so much for the favorites, and alerts, to this story, but reviews feed the muse... And the poor thing kind of needs it – she's been giving me a rough time with this story lately...


	7. Older Than Scotland

**Episode 7 – Older Than Scotland**

Lauren stood just outside the door to that led into the coffee shop and looked inside. It was relatively empty considering the time, and she wasn't sure if she was happy or apprehensive because of this. Maura was already there, the honey-blonde's profile easily distinguishable despite what little interaction they'd had.

She took a calming breath, put a smile on her face and pushed the door to enter the café.

Nothing happened.

She looked down, reading the small sign and her smile turned into genuine amusement as she pulled the door open. A few eyes turned in her direction at the sound of her entering. She nodded at the only person who made eye contact, despite not recognizing the man. He smiled at her, but her eyes already moved on to Maura who was getting up from her seat. Lauren quickly made her way over to the other woman.

"Hi." She hoped that didn't sound as awkward as she felt.

"Hello, Lauren." Maura leaned forward to kiss her cheek in greeting. A move spurred by years of conditioning to social interactions that always made her uncomfortable. "Please, have a seat." She motioned to the chair across from where she stood. "I apologize if that made you uncomfortable. My mother and my school instilled a few things in me when it comes to social interaction. I can see however that it caused rigidness of your trapezius and deltoid muscles carrying all the way to the positioning of your arms and hands. And I'm pretty sure that both latissimus dorsi and trapezoids are taut as well."

Lauren blinked, and then laughed, removing her jacket and placing it on the back of her chair before sitting down.

"I am a bit nervous, but you naming most of the larger back and shoulder muscles, says a bit about your comfort levels too, doesn't it?" Maura smiled gingerly.

"I find this – us sitting down together, strange. A few months ago I hated you for taking work away from me while Jane was allowed to remain on the case."

Lauren nodded, her smile softening to an understanding one. "I thought as much. But that wasn't my fault, nor was it personal... We all have orders and procedures to follow."

Maura nodded. "I am aware. It does not, however, mean that I have to like it." She finished with a smile.

A waitress broke their conversation by asking if they would like to order anything. Maura looked questioningly at Lauren who glanced down at the menu, then up at the chalkboard. "Go ahead. If you know what you'd like, of course." Lauren offered. A few moments later the waitress left with their orders of food and drink, and Lauren leaned back in her chair, draping an arm around the back rest as she took a look around.

"I haven't been here in ages." She told Maura when their eyes met again. "I've gotten to going to the same old place. And it's nothing like this. It's nice to change things up. Thank you for this."

Maura's smile faltered a bit.

"Maura, are you alright?" Lauren moved forward in her chair, the hand that was previously resting on the back of the chair moving to hold the one that Maura had on the table in front of her. Maura pulled her hand away from the blonde's touch.

"I can't lie."

"Excuse me?" The lack of context was confusing.

"I physically cannot lie. I start to hyperventilate, then develop urticarial, or in some cases – a vasovagal syncope." Lauren's eyebrows climbed steadily higher throughout this sentence.

"You get hives and possibly faint if you lie?" Lauren was even more confused, but Maura nodded.

"That is why I do not want to answer your question yet. I will, later this evening. But I would like us to first enjoy our dinner."

Lauren ran a hand through her hair. "We both know that something is bothering you but you want to pretend that we don't?"

Maura nodded. Lauren opened her mouth, then closed it.

She opened it again, but it took a moment for her to say anything. "I can respect that."

Maura smiled in relief.

"You really cannot lie?"

Maura shook her head. "No."

"Not even a white lie?"

"That's still a lie."

"Haven't you ever old a patient that they looked better when they really didn't?"

"I'm a medical examiner. If my patients start looking better I would start worrying that I'm one of the horror movies that Jane likes so much."

"You have a point. A sick friend, then? Wait, Jane likes horror flicks?"

"I have not." Maura shrugs. "And Jane says she finds the horror genre far more funny than scary." She paused momentarily, "it's funny – when I told Jane about my inability to lie, her first question was whether I have ever lied to a man about being good in bed. You ask about lying to patients."

Lauren grinned. "Before I forget, thank you for inviting me. It's been a while since I just went out with a friend with no work-related obligations standing, well – anywhere near us. This is nice." Her grin grew into a smile as she spoke.

The conversation was kept light after that, and the two flowed from topic to topic easily. Though Lauren was shocked, and slightly dismayed, about the other woman's minimal knowledge of Star Trek, Star Wars, the difference between them, and popular culture as a whole. They stayed on those topics for a few long minutes.

It was only after they received their second cup of coffee that Maura decided to raise the topic that brought her to ask for this meeting. And so as she raised the mug to her lips she asked, with as much nonchalance as she could muster, "Jane's wolf was brought to my knowledge lately."

Lauren nearly choked on her drink. "She actually told you?" She managed to sputter after she stopped coughing.

Maura made sure to take a sip before lowering her mug. Her features controlled as she tried to keep the hurt about being unaware of Jane's secret while this woman apparently knew. Maura and Jane were supposedly best friends. Why is it that she didn't know while Lauren did?

"Wow," Lauren continued, then scratched the back of her neck, "That's... surprising. From what I understood from Bo, I didn't think Jane wanted you to know any of this." Maura looked away. "I'm sorry." Lauren apologized. "I just meant that -" she huffed, her voice was lowered when she spoke again. "The Fae are very quiet about their business. The fact that we know three full blooded humans who interact with them while knowing that they are Fae is very unusual, even if two of them are us. And the fact that she told you _what kind_ of Fae she is even more remarkable. It's a very private matter, she didn't tell Bo for weeks, and if she didn't have to shift into her other form in front of Kenzi to rescue Bo from that Kappa in time than I doubt if they would know." Maura was fighting with great difficulty to keep her facial features neutral.

"How did you discover this about her?" Maura asked the blonde, her tone falling a bit flat.

"I'm her doctor." Lauren shrugged. "I serve as the main medical authority to all the Light Fae. And, well, Bo. And since certain types of Fae have different physiologies, I need to know what type of patient I'm treating if I'm to..." She paused, and gave Maura a long look.

Then she paled, slumping into herself.

"You don't know..." Lauren concluded in a voice that was barely above an exhale. "You didn't know..." She shifted back a bit, her hands going into her hair, and her elbows coming to rest on her knees. "And I've just... Oh my god. He's going to kill me."

"What?" Maura did not expect this turn in the conversation. "How did you realize this? And who is he?"

Lauren barked out a laugh. "Your face gave you away when I was talking about different physiologies." Her face went back between her hands. "He warned me not to..." she exhaled deeply in her frustration, "and I fell right into this." She raised her head, meeting the other woman's eyes again. "For someone who can't lie you sure cut it close."

"I'm sorry." Maura's apology was heartfelt, and she told Lauren the story of how she came to learn about Jane's wolf and her earlier inquiries which led nowhere. "I thought that maybe if I went to someone outside her immediate circle than maybe I could finally find answers. With you dating her cousin, Bo might have let something slip." She concluded and Lauren laughed bitterly. A sentence the blonde said earlier finally seemed to make sense to Maura.

"Wait, Bo and Jane are not cousins are they?" Lauren shook her head. "Why would they lie?" Her sentence trailed off.

"Probably to get Bo easier access to the precinct." Lauren shrugged as she rubbed her face against her hands.

"I never thought that I might be making any sort of problems for you. I am, truly, very sorry."

Lauren raised her head. "Please," she locked eyes with the medical examiner, "do not repeat this to anyone. Please. If anyone knew that I gave you this information, I don't know what will happen."

"Surly, you can't be serious?"

"I am serious. And don't call me Shirley." Lauren deadpanned, and Maura tilted her head. "Old movie quote. You really haven't seen '_Airplane!_'?" Maura shook her head. Lauren turned serious again. "Will you promise me? No one can know that I told you about this."

"I promise." Maura reached out to the woman sitting on front of her, taking hold of her forearm and gently rubbing it with her thumb. "And again - I apologize for my deceit. I was simply worried about Jane. As a doctor, you have to admit that this is odd."

Lauren relaxed a bit. "I'll admit that this is odd even without being a doctor."

"You're not a doctor?" Lauren sighed.

"I am a doctor. But this would be odd even if I wasn't." Maura made a silent oh in understanding.

Lauren shook her head, removing her arm from the other woman's reach.

"I have made a mess of things haven't I?" Maura said sadly, retracting her hand. "The thing is that I really did, _do_, want to get to know you better. And I have enjoyed our dinner – before promptly ruining it for you." Lauren managed a small smile.

"I did too. It's nice to have someone outside of my usual circle."

"I would like to make it up to you," Maura leaned closer to the table as she spoke, "if you will allow me to do so, of course. I promise that I will not raise this matter again."

"I..." Lauren fumbled for words, "I will need to keep to myself for some time. I need to make sure that there is no backlash against me."

"I understand. Please, let me pay for dinner. I think that's it's the least I can do..."

Lauren accepted with a nod, and in less than five minutes, the two were stepping out of the café.

"Goodbye, Maura." Lauren didn't wait for a reply before walking off towards her car, and Maura couldn't help but watch her walk away, her mind both thinking ahead and worrying about potentially exposing this woman to danger.

~~~Boston*Fae~~~

Jane was smiling contently as she walked up the stairs to her apartment. The weekend with Frankie went even better than she had expected. They ran, they hunted, and they even played a bit. Swimming in that small pool they happened to find felt divine. The water would have been too cold for a human, but her fur made the swim not only refreshing, but enjoyable. And now she was back feeling both calmer and more refreshed than she had in months.

She took a deep breath when she reached her front door. Her nose alerting her to faint traces of smells. Smells that she knew very well. She unlocked the door and stepped inside. The living room was empty, but she could hear the woman who was the source of the smells making her way out of the bathroom. She closed the door, locking it behind her.

"Jane!" Maura exclaimed in surprise when she finally saw the brunette. The medical examiner smiled, then frowned, as she made her way back to the living room to join her friend. "I thought you would be back earlier. I was almost ready to leave."

"I had no idea you'd be here, Maur." Jane removed a backpack from her shoulders and placed it on the floor by the door. "Is everything okay?"

Instead of coming towards her like she usually did, Maura turned into the kitchen. Jane frowned.

"I've been keeping some dinner warm for us. Are you hungry?" She knew Maura too well not to know why Maura was avoiding questions.

"I can eat," she shrugged, "but only if you tell me what's wrong."

Maura looked back over her shoulder then proceeded to open the oven and take out a small tray of lasagna. Jane's mouth instantly watered. "Will you get me some wine?"

"Maura..." She was really not in the mood to get exasperated. The weekend spent running through the woods was far too enjoyable to end on this note. But she moved to the fridge to get Maura some wine, and a beer for herself. Meanwhile, Maura was setting plates, cutlery, and glasses at their usual dining spot.

"So," Jane started once they both sat down, their food in drinks in front of them. "What's going on?"

Maura took a deep breath, exhaling slowly though her nose. Jane set her utensils down and leaned forward; this was going to be serious. The knowledge was confirmed when Maura met her eyes, her expression serious, her eyes hurt.

"Jane, I know." Jane blinked, then raised an eyebrow.

"You know a great many things, Maur, more than practically anybody I know."

Maura paused for a moment, then looked away. "Don't you mean – any human you know?"

"What?" Jane's mouth went dry, and she fought the urge to sink her fingernails into the countertop. It was taking a great effort to control herself.

Maura met her eyes again.

"I know that you are Fae, Jane. I may not know exactly what that means, but I know that it means that you are not exactly human. I know that you change your form, though I don't understand how that is possible. I know that your other form is a wolf. And I know that you are not related to Bo."

Jane sat back in her chair, shocked. Maura's delivery was slow, careful, probably even rehearsed, and every syllable dripped with hurt and betrayal.

"I want to ask you why you didn't tell me all of this in the years we have come to know each other. But I am no longer sure that I can say that. Do I _even know you_, Jane?" Tears were welling up in Maura's eyes and she grabbed a napkin to dab them away.

"How do you know all of this?" Jane could feel a stab with every sentence Maura spoke. And she recognized most of them as guilt. This was a human. Maura was a human. She should not be ashamed of keeping being a Fae secret from her.

But the hurt in Maura's eyes, and the tears, caused Jane's heart to clench painfully in her chest. Maura gave a short bitter laugh.

"_**That**_ is what you ask me? How did I discover this secret of yours?" Maura clenched her jaw, but the tears kept coming. Jane leaned forward, placing her forearms on the counter.

"Maura, I..."

"I overheard you talking with Bo. That's how I discovered it."

The raven haired woman was confused for a brief moment before realizing the only instance when that was possible. "At the morgue?" Maura nodded. "That was nearly a week ago. And I never said..."

Maura cut her off. "I conducted some research." She stated flatly. "Stop avoiding my question, Jane." The honey-blonde's eyes hardened. "Just tell me – how much of what I know of you is a lie?"

Jane looked down and away.

A few long and silent moments passed, Jane couldn't quite bring herself to look back the woman sitting before her. Finally Maura stood, stepping away from her chair and starting for the door.

"Thank you, Detective Rizzoli, for finally opening my eyes." Her voice was thick, her vision blurred from tears. "I will give you your apartment key back first thing tomorrow morning," Jane's mouth fell open as her brain raced to catch up with all that was happening.

"Maura," she tried but was ignored.

"And I would greatly appreciate it if you did the same. If you do not-"

Jane tried to interject again, "Maura," but was once again ignored. The honey-blonde was almost at the door, so Jane ran.

"I will be forced to have the locks to my house changed. So I would-" the gasp Maura emitted at being caught and spun so that her back met the door stopped her flow of words.

"Maura, stop, please." Jane nearly begged, then moved back, not wanting the smaller woman to feel trapped. "I," she trailed off momentarily as she ran a hand through her hair, "This is not something that I ever imagined getting out. Can you understand my surprise?"

Maura stood silent.

Jane grimaced.

"As for your question – what you know about me – emotions, likes, dislikes - those are all real."

"What about your family?" Jane flashed a quick smile, before looking self-conscious.

"I'm older than Angela." It was enough of an explanation, she figured.

Maura looked at her in disbelief.

"I won't deny that I wanted to keep this information from you." Jane said solemnly. "But it was because I thought you would be safer not knowing. But if you managed to gather enough information to do research about us, I might as well tell you whatever it is that you want to know. Leaving you to gather information on your own will likely get you dead, get someone to feed off of you, and not in a way that would be good for you, " she took a deep breath, "or worse." She motioned to the couch. "Let's sit."

Maura nodded, and moved from the door. Jane ran her hand through her hair once again before joining her. She just hoped she wasn't making a mistake by doing this.

"What do you want to know?"

"Everything." Jane couldn't help but smile.

"A general, all inclusive statement, Maura? If I didn't know you're upset, this would have been my first tip-off." She leaned back into the cushions, then looked around. "Where's Jo Friday, by the way?"

"Asleep on your bed." The answer was flat. Jane nodded.

"You said you've done research." Maura nodded. "So give me a starting point."

"What are the Fae? And how is it that you can turn yourself into a wolf?"

Jane sighed. "We are a different family, taxonomically speaking," Maura's eyes grew wide, "than humans. What? I know some biology. I was alive when Darwin published the Origin of Species."

"How old are you?" Maura couldn't help but ask as stared at the woman she thought she knew.

"Old. I was around when Scotland was established. I didn't keep much of a calendar before then, though." Maura was quick to do the math.

"You are over 1100 years old?" Jane looked up at the ceiling, her eyes moving from side to side as she did the math.

"I suppose I am."

"Yet you look younger than Angela? How is that possible?"

"I'll get to that." Jane took a deep breath and looked at the woman sitting beside her. The woman's smell was starting to become distracting. She shook her head to clear the thoughts and continued talking. "Don't ask me about how we evolved; I was never much for studying. But we, the Fae, feed off humans. Some feed of curtain kinds of energies – like Bo who feeds on sexual energy, other feed off luck, talent, or..." she gestured vaguely. "There are many kinds of Fae, and many ways to feed."

"I am a shape changer. I can turn into a wolf, which means that I'm referred to as a Wolf-Shifter. Half of the Rizzolis are also canine shifters, though they don't turn to wolves."

"What do they turn into? And how is it that I am asking this so calmly?" Jane smiled softly at her friend's comment.

"They will tell you if they wish. It's a very personal question to ask a Fae since it can tell much about our strengths and weaknesses. As for your other question - something in you still doesn't believe this."

Maura shook her head. "It does sound very outlandish."

Jane was quiet for a minute, before getting to her feet. "Give me a minute, then come to my room." She said and headed into the back of the apartment. Maura stared after her, unsure, but glanced at the clock and waited.

Three steps away from the room she was almost knocked off her feet when Jo Friday came running out at full speed, her little tail held high. Maura looked back at the small dog who proceeded to jump onto the couch, and thus remove herself from Maura's line of sight. She looked back to the bedroom door, and swallowed.

She moved forward again, stopping just inside the room. The clothes Jane had just worn lay on the half made bed; the covers seemingly pulled nearly half off. On the floor, just beside the blanket, a large black wolf sat on its haunches and looked up at her. "Jane?"

The wolf's mouth opened, its tongue lolling out. A moment later it moved to bury itself under the blanket, only pocking its head back out. It gave a shake of its head and the hair began to lengthen, the muzzle to retract, and entire body's shape began to change. A moment later Jane stood in the wolf's place, laughing softly, and holding the blanket close to her body. "You can check under the bed if you'd like, but I swear I'm not there."

Maura's eyes rolled back in their sockets, and Jane dropped the blanket as she jumped to catch the woman before she fell to the floor.

~~~Boston*Fae~~~

Maura opened her eyes and tried to refocus. She was lying down. On a bed. On Jane's bed

"Hey." A soft voice said from somewhere to her left, and she moved her eyes in the direction of Jane's voice. She was dressed again. "Welcome back." She sat up. Jane's hand flew to her shoulder but stopped before making contact. Jane pulled her hand back. "I have some water here for you if you want." She turned to the bedside table and offered Maura a glass.

"Thank you." She accepted quietly. "How long was I unconscious?"

"Less than five minutes. Are you alright?" Maura took a moment to mentally examine her body and noted no aches or pains.

"I seem to be. Though it has been a while since I've experienced a vasovagal syncope." Jane rolled her eyes, a gentle smile of her lips. She brought her hand to the back of her head. "How is it that I don't feel a contusion?" Jane's look turned confused. "A bruise," Maura explained. Jane nodded in understanding.

"I caught you before you managed to make contact with the floor." The dark haired woman stood and stepped away from the bed. "I'm sorry about that. But I thought that would be the easiest way to explain how I shift and prove that this is all real. I'm sure there is some physiological-bio-molecular explanation for all of this. But I can't give them to you. Lauren, Doctor Lewis, will be far better at that than I. I'm, sorry - I honestly never thought you'd faint."

Maura sighed.

"I didn't expect it myself." She stood and looked down, only now noticing that Jane had removed her shoes. When she looked back at Jane it was clear that her words had the desired effect, and Jane was a little less stressed. "Shall we continue?"

Jane nodded solemnly. "Do you want to go back to the living room?"

"Yes, please." They were soon back on the couch, with Jo Friday in Jane's lap. "She's not afraid of you."

"She's a brave little puppy." Jane smiled down at the dog, who was in the process of finding a new comfortable sleeping spot. "And we're in each other's pack now. What else did you want to know?"

"You said that you're younger than your... than Angela." Jane nodded. "Yet you look young enough to be her daughter. How is that possible?"

"We all have our roles in the pack." Jane began after taking a deep breath. "She wanted to, and was meant to, be a mother. So her appearance matches that. I, on the other hand, was born and trained as a warrior. My appearance matches my function as well."

"Does that mean that you cannot have children?"

"Of course I can." Jane scoffed. "But I have yet to give my love to anyone. I never really found my Mate. And bringing young ones to a place where there is no love?" Jane shrugged, "people do it, I suppose. But I never wanted to."

"How is it that you're still alive? If you're over a millennia in age, then all of your cells must have reached the Hayflick limit by now!" Jane stared at her blankly.

"My cells have reached the hey-what-now?"

"The Hayflick limit. It's the number of times that a cell can divide before reaching senescence, and triggering apoptosis."

"I have no idea what you just said. And I need another beer." The raven haired woman looked at the counter. "Actually – our food is getting cold. Explain yourself over food?" She stood and offered her hand to Maura, who looked at her for a brief moment before pushing herself to a standing position, ignoring the offered hand. Jane sighed quietly.

"Living cells can only divide, only live, for so long before reaching the point where carrying on further will leave them with two options - transform and turn into cancerous cells, or die. If you are over 1000 years old all of your dividing cells should have reached this point."

Jane nodded slowly as they took their seats. "I see. Honestly, I don't know. But Lauren might, you can ask her. I can try and arrange a meeting or something if you'd like."

"She gave me her number."

"Oh, right. Sorry." Jane apologized, waiting to see what the woman in front of her would do.

They lapsed into a short silence while Maura, then Jane picked up their utensils and began to eat.

"Who else is Fae? Out of the people in our social circle, I mean. Is anyone except the Rizzolis Fae?"

Jane nodded. "Well, like you said – there's the Rizzolis, and Bo. From the precinct - Frost, as well as Jones and Strax over at narcotics." Maura's eyes grew large. Jane gave her a sad grin.

"Most of the Fae blend well with the human population."

"But not all Fae? "

"No. Those who don't are called Under-Fae, and are kept hidden from your kind."

Maura's eyebrows rose. "My kind?"

Jane shrugged. "Figure of speech."

They stayed up for hours that night, Maura asking questions, and Jane explaining what she knew. They moved from the kitchen back to the living room once they were done with their meal. At some point the conversation turned from the Fae as two groups – Light and Dark, to Jane herself; to her past, and experiences. But when Jane noticed that the time was nearing 2:30am, she called a stop to their conversation, claiming that they both need to sleep before going in to work.

Maura agreed, and reached for her bag. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going home." She explained as if it was meant to be obvious.

"It's late, Maur, sleep over."

"Jane, I..." Maura faltered, and the taller woman could see in her friend's eyes everything that the woman thought and felt. All the new information that needed to be processed. All the hurt from being kept in the dark throughout the entire length of their friendship. The depth of the betrayal that Maura felt due to being kept in the dark and lied to. But worse than all of those was the emotion swimming just below the surface – uncertainty. Maura didn't know how much she could trust Jane.

Not with the information given now, but because of the misinformation given in the past.

"I should go home."

"You should sleep." Jane countered softly. "Take the bed, I'll take the couch. I insist, please. If you leave I will only get in my car and follow you to make sure you get home okay."

Maura deflated at the last sentence, finally nodding her agreement.

Jane smiled softly. "I'll go grab myself a blanket, and sleep on the couch. Take the bed. You and I both know that it's by far the more comfortable of the two."

"I can't take your bed from you." Maura started to object but stopped when Jane raised her hand.

"I've slept on the ground and between bushes with only my fur for warmth for the past two days. When it's still very early spring in Massachusetts. Trust me, inside a house on a couch with a blanket, is fine." Jane started for her bedroom before adding over her shoulder, "we can likely talk about this for days. Let's get to bed. We have work tomorrow, and we should get there at least a little rested." Maura was quiet while Jane was out of her sight, but stood when the taller woman returned.

"You're right. But I still wish to discuss this further."

Jane nodded.

They bid each other good night and Maura left for the bedroom.

Jane flopped back down on the couch and spread the blanket. Jo Friday padded over to her, and Jane made room for the small dog between herself and the blanket before scratching the little head that rested itself against her arm.

"Did you see her face, Jo?" A small whine came in response. "Yes. I know. It was all in her eyes. I don't know if she can pull out of this. If we can pull out of this." The dog's ear twitched. "I've never seen a human take this so hard. Then again I never knew any human quite like Maura." Jo turned her head, looking at the woman beside her, then licked her face.

Jane chuckled softly.

"Thanks Jo. I appreciate the vote of confidence, but it's not only up to me." Jo tilted her head, then rested it back on her forepaws and closed her eyes. "Oh, shut up."

In the other room, Maura had taken out an oversized shirt and a pair of yoga pants and was folding her clothes as she considered all that she learned tonight. Hoping that she could trust that the information Jane gave her was true. After the years they knew each other, the countless hours spent together, to only have discovered about this huge part of Jane now, and by accident? A part that seemed to weave into her entire being yet was kept a secret from her all this time.

So many secrets woven into one. So many lies told to perpetuate the ignorance of the people around her.

Around them. Barry Frost was Fae too. As were the rest of the Rizzolis.

But Barry Frost was not pretending to be her best friend. As far as she knew, he didn't build an entire family and pretend to live one life while living another simultaneously. She could only guess about the other Rizzolis, and she refused to do that.

Over 1100 years old...

How many people like Maura has Jane had in her life?

Was Jane even her real name?

* * *

**A/N:**

For the record – Maura didn't lie! I know it's _really_ subtle, but Lauren asked Maura to promise that no one would know that she was the one who gave Maura the information, and Maura kept true to that.

But Maura (and we!) deserve to have this confrontation with Jane...

Another note – I have a few insane family events coming up next week, so it's highly likely that I won't get to post chapter 8... The chances of me sitting down at a computer are about 3 in 74345682... *sigh*

Having said that – I will try to post chapter 8 as soon as possible after all the mess that will likely take over next week.

Wish me luck! ;)


	8. ArachnoFaebia

***cough*Note the rating change*cough*****  
**

* * *

**Chapter 8 – ****ArachnoFaebia**

_Jane and Frost thanked the man and walked out of the house, saying one last goodbye as they stepped out into the walkway. "This entire thing doesn't sit right with me Frost..."_

"_Why not? It seems like an open and shut case of murder suicide to me." _

_She shrugged."I'm not entirely sure. Mostly because the events themselves, and the timing – this is the fourth murder suicide in this part of town in as many months."_

"_OK, I'll speculate with you - what's tying them all together?"_

"_I wish I had a clue. Dark Fae killings maybe?" _

_Frost shook his head. "I doubt it - this is not their usual MO. multiple murders, yes. Murder-suicides? Not really. We talked to the neighbors. Let's see if there is anything unusual around." His eyes swept across the street and the surrounding houses until they stopped on a bright yellow Chevrolet Camaro. "Like that bright yellow convertible that's parked in front of the victims' old place."_

_Jane turned sharply, her eyes narrowing in on the car, before sighing._

"_That's Bo's car, alright. Let's go wait for them." Frost nodded, and they made their way to the vehicle. They didn't have to wait for long before Bo and Kenzi made their way out._

_Frost sniggered. "What's with the getup, Madame Zelda?" Kenzi backhanded him across the chest._

_They all exchanged information, and Jane asked for Bo's aid with her Dark Fae contacts in solving this matter before the two detectives departed to return to the precinct._

"_Are you sure that sending Bo out to look into this is a good idea?" Frost asked after a few blocks of driving in silence. "Saying that we went to a PI is going to be hard to explain in court."_

"_Yes, but not solving this case is not going to be any better, and I'd rather be sure that we covered our bases." Frost inclined his head in agreement. "Besides, like you said – this isn't exactly Dark Fae MO."_

_For the rest of the drive the only sounds coming from the car were coming from the radio._

"_I'm going to go down and talk to Maura." Jane informed her partner as he pressed the 'up' button to summon the elevator. "I want to look over the evidence again. Maybe I can catch a whiff of something new, now that everything is out of the scene." She nodded in greeting as a couple of uniformed officers passed by them._

"_Good idea." Frost agreed. "Tell her I said hi."_

_Jane nodded and they parted ways._

_It was a few days since they really spoke, or spent any time alone, and the distance was beginning to make Jane feel uncomfortable. She realized that Maura needed to adjust to the new information, and did her best to be patient. After having made her way down to the morgue, she looked around and saw Maura standing at an examination table, the few evidence bags that contained the victims' clothes laid out in front of her._

_Jane paused momentarily and took in the woman who was standing with her back to the detective. She was wearing a black skirt, and Jane could see the collar of a yellow shirt, or jacket. Her honey blonde hair was slightly pulled back, keeping the strands away from her face and the evidence. Jane took a deep breath, smiled, and pushed the door to the morgue open. "Morning, Maura."_

"_Good morning, Jane." The medical examiner greeted with a small smile. "I was just about to examine the clothes for the sisters case. Would you like to join me?" Jane nodded and came to a stop beside her friend, leaning her hip on the table._

"_Sure. How far have you gotten?"_

"_I have just started. Before your arrival I had only divided the belongings so that each sister's artifacts are on a different end of this table." Jane nodded. "This bag contains what the sister suspected as the murderer had on her body when they brought her in." Maura picked up a bag and opened it, taking out a folded and bloody article of clothing. She looked at it carefully for a long moment._

"_Why aren't you unfolding it?"_

"_There seems to be a thick cover of web-like substance." Jane moved her eyes from her friend's face to her hands, taking note of the webbing for the first time. "It might be from the arachnoids webs that we saw on scene."_

"_Their home was covered in cobwebs." Jane agreed, then paused. "So was the home of the other three murder-suicide victims," she added thoughtfully. "How long do you think it would take a spider to cover a house like that?"_

_Maura lowered her hands, and turned slightly towards Jane. "There is no way to tell for certain. It depends on the size of the infestation, the women's cleaning habits, breezes that-" Jane cut her off._

"_Let's say that there was a large colony of very productive spiders, the women didn't clean and they kept their windows closed. Would it take less than a month?" She gave the timeframe of the last occurrence._

"_I do not believe so, but I am not very well versed in arachnology." Maura admitted grudgingly. Jane tightened her jaw._

"_I would like a sample of this web, Maura." She lowered her voice for the next sentence. "Something is off about this, and I would like to take a sample of this to," she looked around taking note of where the lab techs stood, "Doctor Lewis. She can look at this with tools that you don't have access to."_

_Maura stiffened._

"_The chain of evidence Jane." The medical examiner said calmly. "These items just came into my possession, and to my-"_

"_I'm asking for a sample, Maura."_

"_There is no way for you to know what part and how much Doctor Lewis will need."_

_Jane took a deep breath, trying to think of a way to convince her friend. It took a few long minutes, but in the end Maura relented. She was unwilling to cut away a piece of the evidence, nor to break the chain of possession. Nearly exasperated, Jane finally suggested that Maura accompany her to the Light Fae compound to meet with the other doctor, and Maura accepted._

"_I'll likely not behave exactly the way you're used to." Jane warned her friend as they got out of the car and Jane slammed the driver's door closed. And Maura could indeed see the small changes in the posture of the raven-haired woman. The firmer set of her jaw, the hands that were held in place by threading thumbs through belt-loops, making Jane look somewhere between relaxed and threatening._

_Maura followed the woman, and said nothing._

_They were waved inside at the front door as soon as Jane said that Maura was with her._

"_This is the headquarters of the Light Fae." Jane said softly as they were walking along a corridor. "Most of what's in here is bureaucratic offices and the medical bay."_

"_Which Lauren runs."_

"_Exactly."_

_They rounded a corner, and came across a dark haired man in slacks and a gray polo shirt who upon seeing them jumped and promptly turned into a puddle._

_Jane sighed._

"_Hi, Pete. Are you ok, or do you need us to take you to Lauren?" The flesh colored mass shook a little and slowly but surely the man began to reappear. Maura stared wide eyed as a process that seems like bones reforming took place in front of her eyes._

"_Naw, I'm good. The allergy is almost gone. You just sca... startled me."_

"_You sure?"_

"_Yeah," he waved his hand dismissively as he spoke, "I just came from her anyway." Jane shrugged._

"_Have it your way. Come on, Maura." She motioned to a pair of doors not far down the corridor, and when Maura didn't move she took the honey-blonde's arm, and guided her away. "Bye, Pete." She called over her shoulder as they continued, Maura turning her head to see the man waving at them._

_When they stepped into the lab area, Maura's eyes grew large again. The room was large, well lit, well furnished, and from what she could see – well stocked with various medical supplies and equipment. Lauren was sitting at the far side of the room, staring at her computer, but she looked up as they entered and promptly jumped to her feet._

"_Jane, Maura, what are you doing here?" Jane gave the woman a short explanation while Maura continued looking around, not noticing that she was clutching the evidence bag close to her body._

"_May I?" Lauren extending her hand toward Maura was what finally broke her from her inspection of the room._

"_Yes, of course." Maura handed over the bag watching as Lauren carefully took out its contents and peeled off a strand of the substance to place under the lenses of a microscope._

"_We met Pete outside," Jane remarked casually as the blonde worked. "He liquidated again." Lauren looked up._

"_He doesn't liquidate, his bones lose cohesion." She shook her head before returning to her task, placing a second strand into a small box the stood next to the microscope. "He was just in here, and I gave him something for it. I have no idea what he encountered in South Dakota, but it broke down his resistance to the electrical stimuli that his body requires to keep his physiology from..."_

_Jane coughed, stopping the woman mid-sentence. _

"_Right, sorry." The doctor apologized and turned her full focus to the microscope. "Let's see what this says." She adjusted the lenses, the focus and typed a few commands into the computer before turning the screen so that the other two women could see it as well._

"_This looks like spider-silk." Lauren said thoughtfully._

_The computer chimed, a small window popping up at the bottom of the screen. Lauren clicked on it, pulling up the information. "This is 800 times as strong as steel of the same diameter." She said in awe before raising her eyes to Jane, "This is definitely Fae."_

_Jane's shoulders sagged._

"_Can I keep some more of this? I would like to run tests." _

_Maura nodded. "May I stay here and run them with you?" Lauren glanced briefly at Jane. "I'm not sure... I'll have to check with the Ash." Jane shook her head._

"_No, I'll take her to the Ash. He's going to want to see her before he decides, anyway." Maura looked from one woman to another, her confusion apparent._

"_Who is the Ash?"_

_Both Jane and Lauren were silent for a moment; before Jane excused them both, asked Maura to come with her, and explained to her friend - in a broad generality - who the Ash was, as they left the labs. The blonde doctor looked after the two for a long moment before picking up the phone and alerting the Ash's security team to the emergency._

_Maura came back less than an hour later, accompanied by a member of the Ash's security team, and Lauren brought her up to speed. They were working on a deadline and the blonde knew it, so it was important that Maura knew that as well._

_Between the two of them, and despite the need to explain many things to Maura, sorting through the information took little time – they simply had very little information about the Djieiene._

_Because of that – when Jane called, angry at Lauren for alerting the Ash and causing the clubhouse to be quarantined with Bo, Kenzi, and Frost inside – the blonde doctor was quick to agree to the wolf-shifter's suggestion that they all meet at Trick's since he might have information that wasn't available to Lauren._

_It turned out that Jane's hunch was right, and Trick did hold some information regarding how to kill the creature. Combining that knowledge with the list that Bo had made for Jane earlier led them to a Dark Fae who dealt with exotic animals and UnderFae. Maura was in awe. Not of Trick's bar, but of the casual references that the trio made to things that were still completely fantastical. Lauran smiled at that, remembering her first days with the Fae._

_The dealer was an idiot. Or perhaps just a poor soul. But by leaving Trick and Maura to decipher the old texts while Lauren and Jane went to find him and drag the man with them to the bar, they discovered that Trick had misread the line that said that the Djieiene buried its heart somewhere –it was more that it buried its heart in something – in the man that Jane and Lauren held between them._

"_Give me something that I can use to open him up once I find the heart." Lauren's tone was firm. They were approaching their deadline and they knew it. Trick set a pair of rubber gloves and some utensils on the bar, looking a bit apologetic._

"_Not this again." Maura groaned. "All this field -"_

"_Maura, if we don't get the heart soon – Frost, Bo, and Kenzi are going to go up in flames." Jane's tone was firm, and Lauren was already removing the man's shirt. "Literally – they are going to burn the place down to keep it contained." She gave Lauren a dirty look, but the blonde doctor was concentrating too hard on the man to notice._

"_I need him lying down." Jane grunted in acknowledgement and hefted him up on the bar. "Will you help me?" She glanced at Maura, who nodded after a brief moment of hesitation, and reached to the other side of the man's abdomen to feel for the heart._

"_What am I looking for?"_

"_Anything that feel like an abnormal pulsating mass of tissue." Jane grimaced, and she and Trick all but held their breaths as the two doctors worked._

"_I think I found it!" Maura declared after a few tense moments._

"_Then let's get it out." Lauren responded, removing her hands from the man's torso and handing Maura the sharpest knife Trick offered them. Maura shook her head. "You know exactly where it is – get it out."_

_Maura caved when her eyes met Jane's._

_She took the offered knife and made the incision, taking out the small lump, and looking at it in awe of a brief moment before Lauren grabbed it and the knife from her hands, set the heart on the nearest flat surface and stabbed it._

_When the blonde doctor leaned back, the knife's hilt was pointed at the ceiling, the heart speared on the blade._

_She took a deep breath._

_Jane and Trick smiled, relieved. And Maura gaped at the man who was still groaning beside them._

_Lauren exhaled sharply, feeling the adrenalin draining from her system. "I'll call the team and let them know that we neutralized the threat." The two Fae nodded and she took out her phone. "In the name of The Ash – it's done."_

"_Uhh... can I go now?" The man on the bar groaned, and Maura pushed down on his shoulders before he could move._

"_We need to stitch you up first."_

"_Oh. Can I at least get drunk, or knocked out, before you start? I hate needles..."_

_Lauren put the phone away and smiled at the man. "Of course" She answered calmly, then turned her eyes to Maura. "Do you have anything to stitch him up? If not, then I'll have to get something the lab, He's Dark Fae, so I can't take him there for treatment."_

~~~Boston*Fae~~~

"Wow," Bo leaned back against the couch cushions, clearly impressed. "That was quite the story... And here we were just mostly trying not to get dead." She smiled at the blonde who grinned back.

"It's a good thing you thought to feed off Frost, otherwise things could have turned out quite different."

"Yes," Bo grinned, "quite." She paused for a moment, taking a long sip from her drink. "What happened with Jane and Maura after you solved everything?"

"They didn't come here?" Lauren frowned, and Bo shook her head. "They might have gone back to the precinct, but I honestly don't know. Jane did seem to want to get Maura out of the Ash's compound as fast as possible." Bo tilted her head, confused. "I honestly don't know why. Maybe she doesn't want Maura exposed to too much of the Fae too fast."

Bo nodded slowly before placing her glass on the coffee table and turning back to the blonde. "I guess I was just surprised that since all of you worked on this – that I didn't see her in the labs when we were brought in so you could patch us up. I mean – her partner was with us too." Lauren shrugged and looked away, taking a sip of her beer and fiddling with the label. Bo breathed in deeply before continuing. "But there was one thought that, looking back over the last few days - I wasn't paying enough attention to. Then again - I had two people trying to kill either me or each other on my house, and that kinda changes how you look at things, you know?."

Lauren looked back at the brunette, curious. "What's that?"

"Well, I'm getting better at controlling myself." Lauren opened her mouth, "Yes, I know that you've been saying that for weeks. But," she shrugged, "I guess it took me a while to be willing to try and confront that head on in a non-lab-related setting."

Lauren chuckled. "Well, I'm glad that you finally agree with me." She squeezed the brunette's hand, hoping that her smile was reassuring. "Have you," she cleared her throat, "have you given any thought to who you would like to..." she paused, and sucked in a breath. There was no way she didn't seem nervous. Flashing a quick smile she plowed on, changing course, "to **where** you would like to go to find someone?"

Bo turned so that she was fully facing the doctor, who swallowed as the succubus put her arm on the back of the couch, and rested her temple against her palm. Long fingers half disappeared in dark hair. Lauren could barely keep her own fingers from twitching.

Especially when the woman in front of her smiled.

"I have, actually. To answer both of your questions." Lauren could feel her heart sink and flutter with hope at the same time.

She wasn't sure she liked that feeling.

"Lauren," Bo reached for the blonde's free hand, "I like you." The doctor looked down at their hands. She could feel her heart sinking. She knew these words, this intonation, too well.

'I like you, but –'

The kiss of death.

At least Kenzi wasn't there. She wasn't sure if she could deal with another person seeing her getting rejected like this. Although, in all probability - the girl already knew. She and Bo did live together.

A hand on her cheek drew her focus back to the woman sitting beside her.

"Hey," Bo half whispered, then removed her hand, taking Lauren's beer away and placing it on the table before returning her hand to Lauren's. "Where did you go?"

"I just..." she trailed off having no idea how to finish the sentence. She shrugged, turning her eyes away and closing them against the moisture she could feel beginning to accumulate there.

She should go.

She took a deep breath and opened her eyes turning herself back to Bo.

She was so close.

"Bo, I -" but she was cut off when Bo's hand found its way to her cheek once again. She leaned into the touch, into the gentle caress of the thumb, her eyes fluttering closed. This was probably the last time. Bo was trying to put her at ease.

"I am not, and I will not succubus you, Lauren." Bo said quietly. "But I like you. And I think that we have something. Or the beginning of something, at least." Lauren's heart broke. "And if you feel it too – I would really like to explore it."

Lauren's eyes snapped open.

Her jaw fell open. Bo sat in front of her with a hopeful expression on her face, her eyes honest.

She swallowed thickly and tried to speak, but no sound came out.

She had no idea how long they sat that way, but when the eyes before her dulled and the hand at her cheek began pulling away she simply reacted – taking hold of the back of the hand she pulled it back to her, and turned her head so that her lips met the palm. She kissed it softly, before entwining their fingers and lowering their hands.

"I was sure you were going to say something else."

Bo smiled, her shoulders sagging briefly in relief before she moved forward, capturing Lauren's lips with her own. She was content for a while to just press her lips to the blonde's. To ease the pressure just a bit before pressing forward again.

But when Lauren reached up and tangled her hand in Bo's hair, her fingers caressing a spot just behind the succubus' ear she gasped, drawing in a deep breath. In that opening, when she pulled ever so slightly back, and her lips parted just enough for her to inhale sharply, Lauren surged forward, running her tongue from the other woman's lower lip to the highest edge of the top.

Bo smiled, angling her head and opening her mouth to meet the tongue that was now trailing across her lower lip.

Lauren moaned, and the sound made the blood rush in Bo's head. Or away from her head. She didn't care. All she could focus on was the growing need to feel the body below her. She moved forward and up, pushing her partner gently deeper into the back of the couch as she moved to straddle the blonde. Her hands wouldn't keep still. Not that she wanted them to – one was scratching lightly just above the base of Lauren's neck, while the other made its way up from the woman's hip. When she found a breast she was more than pleased to feel the woman below her arch up into her touch.

She broke the kiss, her lips almost not leaving the skin of the woman sitting below her as she kissed her way to the blonde's ear.

Lauren sucked in a breath, her mouth falling open as she tilted her head to grant Bo better access. Her right hand tangled itself deeper in the brown hair while her left took hold of Bo's thigh. Sliding upwards slowly, fingers spread as wide as she could make them, trying to touch as much as she could, from the top of the woman's thigh upwards and back until she brought it to a stop at the juncture of Bo's thigh and hip. She didn't reach further back to take a hold of the woman's behind, there would be enough time for that later. When they weren't on a couch.

Bo's lowered her head more, kissing a path from the blonde's ear to her neck and grinned when her lips touched a spot that make the woman below her stiffen and move deeper into her touch at the same time.

She raised her head closer to Laurens ear, "did I just find a spot?"

Instead of replying Lauren pulled her head slightly back and to the side, meeting her lips in a searing kiss.

"I'll take that as a yes."

"Bo?" Lauren let her hand slide out from the succubus' hair, down the column of her neck, licking her lips as she followed the hand with her eyes. Her fingers traced Bo's collarbone, before following the very edge of the fabric that made the woman's cleavage.

She wanted that shirt off.

"Lauren?" The blonde looked up. Bo was smiling at her. "Maybe we should take this to a place a little more," she paused, her tongue darting across her bottom lip as she took in the darkened eyes and dilated pupils of the woman sitting below her. "A place a little more private?"

Lauren could only nod, but she distinctly felt the loss of weight and heat when Bo moved back and up. She stared up blankly.

Bo looked down at her. "Are you going to join me?" She asked as she offered Lauren a hand. A slow smile formed on her lips as her hand was accepted and the doctor got up.

They stopped to kiss a few times along the way. The twenty or so steps from the couch to Bo's bedroom feeling like an eternity without feeling the other. And so Lauren found herself pressed against a doorway. A few steps later the top two buttons of the vest Bo wore were undone with great difficulty. Bo switched their positions then, her fingers coming up to a small knot and pulling it loose, making her top a bit less tight.

"Thank you." Lauren breathed as her fingers came back up, undoing the rest of the buttons much faster.

The shirt was forgotten at the top of the stairs as the two made their way to the bedroom, Bo kicking the door closed.

Lauren turned back to face her and froze, swallowing hard. Bo stood in front of her, black bra trimmed with lace, toned stomach; she was confident, her eyes dark with lust. "You are so beautiful." The whispered exhalation seemed to spur the brunette into motion, and she closed the distance between them. Lauren closed her eyes at the feeling of Bo pressing against her.

"And you are overdressed."

The loss of body heat was further accentuated by the chill that came with Bo pulling off her shirt. Her hands came down to Bo's hips and she kissed her, hoping to prolong the moment before the succubus looked at her fully. It wasn't self-consciousness per-se, but when standing next to Bo?

When Bo tried to pull back but Lauren kissed her again, biting gently on a full bottom lip, before letting her tongue explore the inside of the other woman's mouth..

She felt herself being pushed back gently until her legs hit the bed. "Let me see you." Bo's request was so quiet that she was at first half sure she imagined the feeling of air against her lips. She nodded slowly, and Bo pulled back slightly looking at her from head to toe and back again. "Oh, Lauren," the brunette breathed, "you are gorgeous." She moved closer. "So gorgeous."

And felt Bo's lips against hers again.

She didn't feel herself sitting down, or falling, nor her pants being removed, but she was fully aware when Bo crawled up the bed, up her body. She could feel the burn wherever the skin of Bo's thigh touched her own and she arched up into the sensation.

"So beautiful..." Bo murmured, and Lauren took advantage of the momentary distraction to reverse their positions. The sound of Bo's laughter warming her heart.

She looked down, then back at Bo, who nodded. She lowered her head, and kissed just under Bo's neck before making her way down with kisses, licks, and gentle nips to trace just outside the edges of the lace covering Bo's breasts.

For a while that was enough – feeling Bo arch up into her, the succubus' hand holding the back of her head. Hearing the broken rhythm of breathing, but she soon wanted more, and she reached behind Bo's back to unhook the woman's bra.

"You're good at that." Bo breathed out and Lauren grinned crookedly.

"You are not the first woman I've slept with..." Lauren flung the bra aside.

"We are not going to talk about this now though, are we?"

"You were the one who brought it up."

"I just said you were -" the rest of Bo's words were swallowed by a moan when Lauren took an erect nipple in her mouth, her free hand reaching up to massage the woman's right breast. "Definitely not your first time." She panted when Lauren raised her head.

"I'm also a lab rat – that means I'm also at least slightly ambidextrous." Bo was vocal in her appreciation to Lauren's touch, and the doctor could feel her confidence growing. She turned her attention to the other breast, her right hand trailing up her lover's body.

"And you're still wearing too many clothes." Bo muttered, her voice a combination of impatience and breathlessness.

"What are you going to do about it?"

Those words were either the wrong words to say or just the right ones. Lauren couldn't decide as Bo pulled her away and pushed them both into a sitting position.

When Lauren felt the sheets against her upper body again, she was gloriously naked. She was half on her side and half on her back, resting almost awkwardly against a pillow. But Bo's thigh was between her legs, and she could feel Bo's wetness against her own thigh.

She fell fully onto her back when Bo pulled the pillow from under her. "Let's put this someplace a bit different." The succubus' voice was as husky as she had ever heard it. "Let me make love to you?" She was so aroused that Bo's voice could easily have been enough to send her over the edge.

She managed to nod.

Bo's answering smile was feral.

She couldn't breathe, could barely form a coherent thought as Bo kissed a trail down her body, stopping occasionally when she found a more sensitive spot. But when eyes so dark they were practically black looked up at her from between her thighs, hot breath tickling her, she didn't need to think – her legs opened wider of their own accord.

The first swipe of Bo's tongue against her center made her cry out. Her right hand reached down to bury itself in Bo's hair, to pull the other woman closer, while her left was thrown back to grab a hold of the headboard. The brunette's tongue was everywhere. Mapping her slowly.

"Bo," she managed to choke out, and Bo hummed. Lauren's eyes rolled back at the sensation, her grip on both the woman and the bed tightening.

There were words coming out of her mouth, or maybe just sounds. She didn't know, nor did she care. Bo was –

Good Gods.

She pushed herself down harder against the two long fingers that entered her, the two women's movements in sync as Bo made her way back up Lauren's body, one hand propping her up, the other constantly moving inside the blonde.

She wasn't drawing in enough oxygen. She could barely breathe. And then Bo was kissing her.

She pulled back, gasping for air and she could feel the beginning of her orgasm washing over her.

Bo's fingers never stopped moving.

She was so close. She could feel it – so close.

Bo crashed their lips together again and this time the kiss swallowed Lauren's exhalation, groan, scream – the blonde doctor was unable to tell as her body tensed, every muscle tightening in pleasure.

Bo's hand didn't stop moving.

She was barely beginning to come down from her orgasm when Bo exhaled and a second orgasm washed over her, even stronger than the first.

Then a third.

She blindly reached down, halting the hand. Bo pulled back slightly, her eyes worried. "Did I..." her question trailed off and Lauren shook her head.

"I just need to breathe." She assured her, "It's been a while."

Bo smiled before bringing her hand, with Lauren still holding onto her wrist, to her mouth.

The blonde could only watch in awe as long fingers disappeared between full lips and as the succubus groaned at her taste.

She swallowed hard. "Besides," the doctor added once she found her voice, "you can't be the one who gets to have all the fun."

Bo raised an eyebrow, her fingers sliding out of her mouth and moving to trace a path down the center of Lauren's chest. "Are you saying it wasn't fun for you?"

The lazy smile melted from Lauren's face, "I'm saying that I want to touch you."

Bo leaned down, "so touch me," she whispered and kissed the blonde lying below her.

Neither of the women got much sleep that night, but when they came downstairs in the morning, following the smell of coffee, Lauren couldn't help but feel happy. Even with Kenzi relentlessly teasing them.

Or maybe even because of it.

It's been a while since everybody in the room treated her as an equal.

* * *

**I've had several people ask me about the possibility of Maura becoming Fae, and honestly - I don't think the show had touched that yet... There was the whole Kenzi pretending to be Jubilee, but I don't think that's what you had in mind.. They did go on about it being hereditary, in season 1, and that you need two Fae parents to be born Fae...  
****I do have a plan though.. And I will answer "Spoilers... *wink*" (like a true student in the River Song school of telling the future), to anyone who asks me about these plans. Not because I'm evil (well, not only because of that), but because I think it would be worth the wait to see things unfold.  
Feel free to throw rotten fruit at me if I end up disappointing you...**


End file.
